Maharashtra cyber cell very active: Samay Raina jokes after being honoured by CM

Comedian Samay Raina was felicitated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at a Mumbai event on Wednesday, where Maharashtra Cyber unveiled its cyber-awareness short film Digital Arrest and the 1930 Maharashtra Cyber Anthem. Raina, who contributed to both projects, used the occasion to joke about his past run-in with the cyber cell, referring to what he called his “long-standing association” with Maharashtra Cyber.The event was attended by Fadnavis and several film and entertainment personalities, including Ashish Vidyarthi, Pankaj Tripathi, Sharad Kelkar, Sonali Bendre, Javed Jaffrey, singer Sunidhi Chauhan, Mangesh Desai and Raina.Speaking at the event, Fadnavis said public awareness was important in combating cybercrime and that such messages could be effectively conveyed to citizens through artists, actors and singers. The celebrities were felicitated for their contributions to the short film and the anthem.During the event, Raina thanked Fadnavis for the felicitation and joked that he already had Maharashtra Cyber’s number saved because he often received calls from them. He said, "Thank you for the felicitation, sir. My association with Maha Cyber has been going on for a very long time. 1930 is really a great number. I have actually saved it because I often get calls from there." He added, "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. Aur aaj pehli baar hua hai ki Cyber Cell ka officer ek comedian ke ghar gaya subah, use ghar se uthaya, aur is baar felicitation hua hai (It’s a brilliant thing. 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 later shared a video of his felicitation on Instagram, where fans described it as a “comeback”. One fan wrote, "Sab samay samay ki baat hai (It is all a matter of time)." Another commented, "The thing about time is that it changes." A third fan wrote, "Brilliant bro, isko bolte hai comeback (now that's what you call a comeback)." What was the India's Got Latent controversy?In February 2025, Raina came under the Maharashtra Cyber Cell’s scrutiny over his YouTube show India’s Got Latent and faced legal action over allegations of promoting obscenity and sexually explicit content. The controversy erupted after guest podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia made a remark about parents and sex for a contestant.Multiple FIRs were filed against Raina, Allahbadia and other content creators associated with the show. Following the controversy, Raina was forced to remove all episodes of India’s Got Latent from YouTube. When he was initially summoned for questioning, he was touring the United States and requested permission to record his statement through video conference. Maharashtra Cyber rejected the request, insisted that he appear in person and issued multiple summons. Raina later appeared before cyber cell officials in Mumbai for questioning and admitted to allegations.Raina has now launched Season 2 of India’s Got Latent, with episodes being released on both YouTube and Netflix. He recently announced that two new episodes would release soon on the two platforms.- EndsPublished By: Priyanka SharmaPublished On: Aug 27, 2026 10:07 IST