Cadaver remarks row: KEM MBBS student, comedian grilled by cyber cell

Mumbai: Regarding the controversy over alleged inappropriate remarks about male cadavers, the Maharashtra Cyber Cell questioned a final-year MBBS student of KEM Hospital and stand-up comedian Pranit More for over eight hours on Wednesday.

The duo appeared before the Cyber Cell on Wednesday, where they allegedly admitted their mistake and apologised multiple times for their actions and the language used in the video that went viral on social media, causing widespread outrage within the medical community.

They gave their statements to the cyber cell and have been asked to appear again next week.

During the questionig, More told investigators that the viral clip was part of a comedy show recorded around three months ago. He reportedly stated that he had not expected the matter to escalate to such an extent and apologised.

Also read- Doctors' body issues legal notice to comedian, event organiser in cadaver remarks row

As part of the investigation, the cyber cell examined his mobile phone and seized videos of several of his comedy performances, as per ABP Live media report.

Meanwhile, the MBBS student also reportedly admitted that the language used during the performance was inappropriate. According to sources, she expressed regret over the entire incident. The officers have also obtained data from her mobile phone for forensic examination.

The interrogation comes days after Maharashtra Cyber registered an FIR against the student, comedian and a man over remarks related to a "Rs 370 biryani" and jokes concerning male cadavers.

The FIR was registered at the Nodal Cyber Police Station under Sections 75(1)(iv), 75(3), 294 and 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

The Controversy

The controversy began during a crowd interaction segment at "The Ashleel Show", a live crowdwork comedy show performed and hosted by More, organised by The Laugh Store.

At one interaction, the comedian reportedly asked the student whether doctors remain serious while handling cadavers during anatomy postings and post-mortem work.

Responding to this, the concerned medico allegedly made an inappropriate statement about cadavers related to comparing the sizes of male cadavers' private parts while studying anatomy. The video soon went viral and gained severe condemnation from doctors, medical students and social media users.

Members of the medical fraternity said that cadavers are treated with utmost respect in medical colleges because they are donated bodies that help students learn human anatomy. Therefore, they said that such comments hurt the dignity of body donors and could negatively affect public trust in body donation for medical education.

As the backlash intensified, the medico reportedly issued a public apology on social media. In her statement, she said the topic was sensitive and admitted that her comments came across in a way they should not have.

Also read- Amid cadaver remarks row, KEM MBBS medico accused of using fake caste certificate for admission