'IGL' row: Samay Raina summoned for the third time
What's the story
The controversy over YouTuber Samay Raina's show, India's Got Latent, continues to snowball. The Maharashtra Cyber Cell has issued a third summons to Raina, who had failed to appear on Wednesday.
The latest notice asks him to appear before the cyber cell on March 24.
The controversy erupted after guest Ranveer Allahbadia, popularly known as BeerBiceps, asked an inappropriate question during an episode, triggering multiple complaints against several panelists and creators of the show.
Twitter Post
Raina had previously requested for digital questioning, which was denied
India's Got Latent case | Maharashtra Cyber Cell sends YouTuber Samay Raina a third summon asking him to appear before them on 24th March for questioning.
— ANI (@ANI) March 19, 2025
Controversy details
'Would you rather' question sparked outrage
The controversy started when Allahbadia asked an inappropriate "Would you rather" question during an episode.
Although there were other offensive comments, it was this question that particularly irked viewers.
The matter escalated to such an extent that complaints were filed against not just Allahbadia and Raina, but even fellow panelists Ashish Chanchlani, Jaspreet Singh, and Apoorva Makhija.
Prominent personalities and politicians have expressed their disappointment over the matter.
Apology and removal
Allahbadia apologized; Raina removed all episodes from YouTube
Facing backlash, Allahbadia issued a video apology on social media. He accepted it was a lapse in judgment on his part, saying since comedy isn't his forte, things got out of hand.
Subsequently, Raina deleted all episodes of India's Got Latent from his YouTube channel. Explaining his action, he wrote on social media, "Everything that is happening has been too much for me to handle. I have removed all India's Got Latent videos from my channel."
Commitment
Raina pledged cooperation in inquiries
Further, Raina said, "My only objective was to make people laugh and have a good time. I will fully cooperate with all agencies to ensure their inquiries are concluded fairly. Thank you."
The stand-up comedian was on a tour across the US and Canada, thereby, requesting more time from the Cyber Cell initially. However, it's not known why he failed to appear before them multiple times.
The controversy has led to many demanding stricter regulation of content on online platforms.