Mumbai and Guwahati police went looking for Ranveer Allahbadia, aka ‘the BeerBiceps guy‘, Friday – the podcaster who faces charges of obscenity and offending public morality, and is under fire for crass comments while filming an episode of ‘India’s Got Latent‘, a stand-up comedy show.
But he was not to be found at his Mumbai residence; the apartment was locked.
A police officer told news agency PTI that Mumbai law enforcement had initiated an inquiry and went to the apartment, in the city’s Versova neighbourhood, to question him.
On Thursday, Allahbadia had been asked to report to the police station in Mumbai’s Khar to record his statement. However, he later requested that this be done at his home.
The request was denied. And, after he failed to appear, the cops issued a second summons and then landed up at his home, in which they were joined by colleagues from Guwahati.
The cops from Assam wanted to question Allahbadia in a case filed by a city resident, who had accused the podcaster of promoting obscene content on an online platform available to all.
Disappointed, both police teams returned to the Khar Police Station.
While Allahbadia was not available for questioning, his legal representative – Abhinav Chandrachud, the son of former Chief Justice DY Chandrachud – approached the Supreme Court to seek relief from the many cases; Allahbadia has asked for these to be clubbed.
READ | Ranveer Allahbadia Goes To Supreme Court Over Multiple FIRs
An early hearing was requested, but Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna said ‘no’, pointing out a date had already been assigned. He also sought anticipatory bail – to ward off the Guwahati Police.
The Guwahati case was filed on Monday and also names Samay Raina, the stand-up comic who hosts the ‘India’s Got Latent’ show. Raina has also been summoned by Mumbai Police and Maharashtra’s Cyber Department, which is conducting an independent investigation. He had been told to appear within five days, but has asked for more time, stating he is currently in the United States.
READ | Comedian Samay Raina Summoned Again, But Says He’s In US
So far Mumbai Police (i.e., the cops from Khar), acting on a complaint from a BJP functionary, have recorded the statements of seven individuals; these include Apoorva Makhija, a YouTube personality who was on the show, and Ashish Chanchalani, another social media influencer.
However, no case has been filed so far.
The statement of one Pratham Sagar, the show’s video editor, will also be recorded.
Meanwhile, the Cyber Department has summoned at least 50 people so far.
This includes show participants and actor and film personality Raghu Ram, who recorded his statement on Thursday. He was one of the judges on this episode of ‘India’s Got Latent’.
The controversy even reached Parliament after Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske raised the issue, calling for stricter regulations on social media content. A parliamentary panel on communications and information technology has asked the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to submit a detailed note on the matter by February 17.
With input from agencies
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