Allahbadia row: Mumbai Police record statements of 7 persons

Social media influencer Allahbadia is likely to appear before the city police in a day or two, officials said.

Mumbai: The Mumbai Police have so far recorded the statements of seven persons, including social media influencer Apoorva Makhija, in connection with controversial comments made by Ranveer Allahbadia on YouTube show India's Got Latent, officials said on Thursday.

Social media influencer Allahbadia is likely to appear before the city police in a day or two, they said.

A team of the Assam Police is in also Mumbai to investigate a case in connection with the controversy, an official said.

The team visited Khar police station here on Wednesday and also met senior police officials, he said.

The Guwahati Police on Monday registered a case against Allahbadia and four others.

The Maharashtra Cyber Department has summoned more than 40 persons, including Allahbadia and comedian Samay Raina, who hosts India's Got Latent, asking them to join the probe into a case registered over Allahbadia's controversial remarks on the YouTube reality show.

The cyber police, which have registered a First Information Report (FIR) in the case, issued notices on Tuesday to the social media influencer and others including `guests' and `judges' who had participated in the past episodes of India's Got Latent.

So far, at least seven persons, including Makhija, other social media influencers and Allahbadia's manager, have appeared before the police and recorded their statements, an official said.

The remaining persons, including Allahbadia, are likely to appear before the police on Thursday, he said.

The persons who are out of station are also likely to appear before the police in a day or two, the official said.

Allahbadia, who has more than 16 million followers across social media platforms, landed in the soup after a video of his controversial comments on parents and sex started making the rounds on social media and led to a massive debate on freedom of speech and what constitutes decency.

He tried to defuse the situation by issuing a video apology where he called his comment a "lapse in judgement" but the issue has refused to die down.

The issue has been raised in Parliament by Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske, who called for a law to regulate social media.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Tuesday asked Allahbadia, Samay Raina, Apoorva Makhija, Jaspreet Singh and Ashish Chanchlani, as well as the show's producers Tushar Poojari and Saurabh Bothra to appear before it on February 17 in New Delhi.