Virat Kohli unfollows Ranveer Allahbadia on Instagram after 'India's Got Latent' row?

Ranveer Allahbadia has lost around 8,000 followers on Instagram ever since the 'India's Got Latent' row exploded. It was an influencer marketing firm that reportedly revealed how his unacceptable comments on the YouTube show have cost the comic followers.

According to netizens, among the 8,000 people who unfollowed Ranveer Allahbadia was star Indian cricketer Virat Kohli. They made the claim along with a screenshot of Virat Kohli's Instagram handle. The RCB batter is following 279 people on Instagram and Allahbadia was not one them, the screenshots showed. 

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Allahbadia, who has more than 16 million followers across social media platforms, recently appeared on comic Samay Raina's YouTube show "India's Got Latent" where he made comments that were judged vulgar and uncivilised by most. 

The Mumbai Police have so far recorded the statements of seven persons, including social media influencer Apoorva Makhija, in connection with the development, officials said on Thursday. Allahbadia is likely to appear before the city police in a day or two, they said.

A team of the Assam Police is in also Mumbai to investigate a case in connection with the controversy. The team visited Khar police station here on Wednesday and also met senior police officials, he said.

The Guwahati Police on Monday registered a case against Allahbadia and four others.

The Maharashtra Cyber Department has summoned more than 40 persons, including Allahbadia and comedian Samay Raina, who hosts "India's Got Latent", asking them to join the probe into a case registered over Allahbadia's controversial remarks on the YouTube reality show.

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The cyber police, which have registered a First Information Report (FIR) in the case, issued notices on Tuesday to the social media influencer and others including `guests' and `judges' who had participated in the past episodes of "India's Got Latent".

So far, at least seven persons, including Makhija, other social media influencers and Allahbadia's manager, have appeared before the police and recorded their statements, an official said.

The remaining persons, including Allahbadia, are likely to appear before the police on Thursday, he said.

On Wednesday night, Raina said he has removed all episodes of "India's Got Latent" from his YouTube channel in the wake of the controversy.

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In an apology video on X on Monday, Allahbadia admitted that his comment was not only inappropriate, but also not funny.

A day later, the controversial episode was removed by YouTube following orders from the central government. "India's Got Latent", which premiered in June 2024, had aired 18 episodes.