Watch: Samay Raina jokes about getting calls from Maharashtra Cyber Cell during felicitation by CM Devendra Fadnavis

Samay Raina with Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis. Pics via X

India's Got Latent host Samay Raina recently met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis along with actors including Sharad Kelkar, Pankaj Tripathi, Ashish Vidyarthi and others. Samay was felicitated by the CM as he attended the launch event of Digital Arrest, a cyber-awareness short film, and the 1930 Maharashtra Cyber Anthem by the state government. During his meeting, Samay did not miss the chance to joke about his long association with Maharashtra Cyber Cell. He further called its cyber helpline 1930 a ‘great number ', joking that he often gets calls from the number.

Samay Raina jokes about his association with the Cyber Cell

Interestingly, Raina was one of the contributors to the film and the cyber anthem, alongside actors Ashish Vidyarthi, Pankaj Tripathi, Sharad Kelkar, Sonali Bendre, Javed Jaffrey and Mangesh Desai, along with singer Sunidhi Chauhan.

At the event, Raina displayed his usual comic timing by thanking Fadnavis for the felicitation and joked that his association with the cybercrime wing had been going on for long.

"Thank you for the felicitation, sir. My association with Maha Cyber has been going on for a very long time," Samay said. He further shared that rom personal experience, "1930 is really a great number. I have actually saved it because I often get calls from there. The Maha Cyber Cell is very active. I can tell you this for sure, whether you are there or whether you are in India, they will catch you," he went on to joke.

He also joked that it was the first time the Cyber Cell had picked up a comedian from home to felicitate them. "Today, for the first time, it has happened that a Cyber Cell officer went to a comedian's house and picked him up from his home, and this time there has been a felicitation," Raina said.

About Samay Raina controversy

For the unversed, Raina was under scrutiny by the Maharashtra Cyber Cell last year over the remarks made on his YouTube show India's Got Latent. The comedian faced legal action for allegedly promoting obscenity and sexually explicit content on his show. The controversy sparked after guest podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia made an inappropriate comment during his appearance.

Consequently, an FIR was filed against Raina, Allahbadia and other influencers associated with the show. When summoned for questioning initially, Raina later, in his stand-up special, revealed that he was touring the United States at the time. He requested to record his statement via video conferencing.

However, the Maharashtra Cyber Cell rejected his request and insisted that he appear before the officials in person. Subsequently, the cyber cell even issued multiple summons to ensure compliance.

Amid the legal pressure, Raina appeared before the Cyber Cell officials in Mumbai for interrogation and acknowledged his mistakes. He even expressed regret for the controversial remarks. Recently, the Supreme Court quashed all FIRs against Samay and others.