E-Paper
'India's Got Latent' row: Samay Raina, others fail to appear before NCW; hearing rescheduled
The YouTubers, who were asked to come at 12 pm today, failed to appear in response to the summons, prompting the NCW to reschedule the hearing.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Monday rescheduled the in-person appearance before it to March 6 and 11 of the YouTubers who courted controversy with their alleged crass remarks on the show 'India's Got Latent'.
Comedian Samay Raina, content creators Ranveer Allahbadia, Apoorva Mukhija, Ashish Chanchlani along with others – Jaspreet Singh, Tushar Poojari, Saurabh Bothra and Balraj Ghai – were asked by the NCW to appear before it at 12 pm on February 17, i.e. today.
However, they failed to appear in response to the summons, prompting the NCW to reschedule the hearing to next month.
In a statement, the women's body also acknowledged the reasons given by Ranveer Allahbadia, Samay Raina and Apoorva Mukhija, expressing their inability to come for the hearing, and seeking a postponement/virtual appearance.
While podcaster Allahbadia, also known as B'eerBicepsGuy,' cited ‘death threats’ and requested a postponement of three weeks, Apoora Mukhija, also known aka ‘The Rebel Kid,’ expressed concerns for her safety and thus requested an online hearing. They have been asked to come on March 6.
On the other hand, Samay Raina and Jaspreet Singh are currently abroad, in the United States and France, respectively. While the former has been given the same date as Allahabadia and Mukhija, the latter will return to India on March 10, and has to appear before the NCW the next day.
Ashish Chanchlani, whose lawyer appeared on his behalf citing his client's illness, too, has been granted a rescheduled hearing on March 6.
Meanwhile, Tushar Poojari and Saurabh Bothra did not respond to the summons, drawing condemnation from the NCW, which has now issued a resummon for March 6. Balraj Ghai, also currently abroad, has been given a hearing date of March 11 upon his return.
The YouTubers are in trouble over a question Allahbadia posted to a contestant on India's Got Latent. The participant was asked a question on parents and sex by Ranveer Allahbadia.
After a massive outrage, Ranveer Allahbadia and Samay Raina apologised. Samay Raina, the creator of India's Got Latent, took down all its videos from his YouTube channel.
Legal cases have been filed against the group in various parts of the country.
(With PTI inputs)
