‘I am his fan, watched show 2 days ago’: Maharashtra minister reacts to Samay Raina's felicitation by Cyber Cell

Maharashtra minister Yogesh Kadam on Thursday reacted to comedian Samay Raina being felicitated by the Maharashtra Cyber Cell, saying he is a “fan of the comedian” and had watched his show, India's Got Latent, just two days ago.

“I am his fan... In fact, I watched his show, I think it was India’s Got Latent, just two days ago,” Kadam told news agency PTI.

The minister said cybercrime awareness was important and praised the initiative to reach people through different platforms. “Look, awareness is very important when it comes to cybersecurity. We are trying to reach as many people as possible through various mediums and inform them about how cybercrime takes place,” he said.

Also read | Samay Raina felicitated by Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, jokes about his past run-in with cyber cell. Watch

“In the same effort, I believe whatever event was held yesterday was very important. I could not attend it, but I think this initiative by the Chief Minister is very important. We are trying to organise as many such awareness programmes as possible,” he further added.

Samay felicitated at cyber-awareness event

On Wednesday, Maharashtra Cyber launched its cyber-awareness short film Digital Arrest and the 1930 Maharashtra Cyber Anthem at an event in Mumbai.

The event was attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and celebrities including Ashish Vidyarthi, Pankaj Tripathi and Samay Raina, earlier HT reported.

Raina, who contributed to both the short film and the anthem, was felicitated by Fadnavis.

Also read | Samay Raina, Vir Das react to Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation: 'More power to the students'

The comedian also spoke about his association with Maharashtra Cyber during the event.

'Cyber Cell officer went to a comedian's house'

While thanking Fadnavis for the felicitation, Raina joked about his familiarity with Maharashtra Cyber's helpline number.

"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."

Raina also praised the cyber cell's work, saying, "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 then referred to his earlier interaction with the cyber cell, saying, “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)."

Samay's earlier Maharashtra Cyber case

In February 2025, Raina came under the Maharashtra Cyber Cell's scrutiny over his YouTube show India’s Got Latent. He faced legal action over allegations of promoting obscenity and sexually explicit content after guest podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia made a remark about parents and sex to a contestant.

Multiple FIRs were filed against Raina, Allahbadia and other content creators associated with the show. Raina subsequently removed all episodes of India’s Got Latent from YouTube.

When initially summoned for questioning, Raina was touring the United States and sought permission to record his statement through video conference. The Maharashtra Cyber Cell rejected the request and insisted that he appear in person, later issuing multiple summons.

Raina eventually appeared before Cyber Cell officials in Mumbai for questioning and acknowledged his mistakes.

Fans call felicitation a 'full circle moment'

Raina later shared a video of the felicitation on Instagram, prompting fans to describe the development as a "full circle moment".

One fan wrote, "This is how you turn the tables." Another commented, "What a full circle moment." A third fan wrote, "Downfall maybe anyway but comeback should be like this."

Raina has now launched Season 2 of India’s Got Latent, with episodes being released on both YouTube and Netflix.