Kunal Kamra-Eknath Shinde Row: Mumbai Police Register FIR Against Comedian, Sena Activists
In the wake of a massive political row over Kunal Kamra's jibe at Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Mumbai Police took action against the comedian as well as Sena activists.
Amid a political row over comedian Kunal Kamra’s jibe at Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Mumbai police on Monday registered two FIRs – one against the comedian and the other against the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) activists who vandalised the studio where the act was performed.
In a statement, Mumbai police said two offences have been registered in Khar police station in relation to the Kunal Kamra case.
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They said that one offence had been registered against the stand-up comedian for derogatory comments and the second offence was filed against Shiv Sena Yuva Sena (Shinde faction) General Secretary Rahool Kanal and 19 others, who ransacked the Habitat studio. As per police sources, Kanal surrendered himself and the location of Kunal Kamra is being tracked outside Mumbai.
The police said that further investigation is going on in the case. Khar police arrested 11 Shiv Sena workers in connection with the vandalism that happened yesterday after registering case against them.
What Did Kunal Kamra Say That Triggered A Political Row?
Kamra, while performing at the Habitat studio in The Unicontinental Mumbai in Mumbai’s Khar, called Shinde a “traitor" and used a modified version of a Hindi song from the Bollywood movie “Dil To Pagal Hai" to take a dig at the 2022 rebellion of Shinde against Uddhav Thackeray.
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Soon after the performance, the party workers of Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) vandalised Mumbai’s Habitat studio and threatened the comedian with “dire consequences". They also registered a First Information Report (FIR) against him.
Amid the massive row, the studio, where Kamra’s show with the “gaddar“ (traitor) jibe at Shinde was filmed, announced that they were shutting it down.
The studio’s official handle, in a social media post, wrote, “We are shocked, worried, and extremely broken by the recent acts of vandalism targeting us."
“Artists are solely responsible for their views and creative choices. We have never been involved in the content performed by any Artist, but the recent events have made us rethink about how we get blamed and targeted every time almost like we are a proxy for the performer," they added.
“We are shutting down till we figure out the best way to provide a platform for free expression without putting ourselves and our property in jeopardy. We invite all artists, audience and stakeholders to discuss and share their views freely and request your guidance so that we also respect the performers’ rights," the studio wrote in the post.
The Habitat is the same place where the controversial ‘India’s Got Latent’ show was filmed.
Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered against Kamra under various Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) actions, including 353(1)(b) (statements conducing to public mischief) and 356(2) (defamation), said an official from MIDC police station.
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