Maharashtra Police Summon Attendees Of Kunal Kamra's 'Naya Bharat' Show For Questioning
Police are investigating Kamra’s alleged remarks about Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on the show.
Maharashtra Police served notices to people who attended comedian Kunal Kamra’s show ‘Naya Bharat’ on Feb 2 at Habitat Studio under CRPC Section 179, which authorises police officers to summon witnesses for investigation.
Police are investigating Kamra’s alleged remarks about Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on the show.
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YP Singh, a former IPS officer turned lawyer, highlighted that police have the authority to summon one or two attendees from the show to record their statements as witnesses. However, he stressed that calling spectators isn’t mandatory, given that electronic evidence is already available in the case.
Additionally, he pointed out that the case lacks severity as the show was conducted within the bounds of freedom of speech.
Meanwhile, Khar Police visited Kamra’s residence in Mahim on Monday to verify his presence. In response, Kamra took to X (formerly Twitter) to post a message, saying, “It was a waste of time".
Kamra posted on X: “Going to an address where I haven’t lived for the last 10 Years is a waste of your time & public resources…"
Kunal Kamra received notices on March 25 and 26 to appear at Khar police station for questioning about his controversial comments on Eknath Shinde. However, he didn’t show up, as the Madras High Court granted him interim bail until April 7.
A Khar police officer confirmed that no additional notices have been issued to Kamra, and neither he nor his legal representative has contacted the police.
Kamra stirred a row after giving a spin-off to a popular Hindi song in which he took a veiled dig at Shinde, calling him a “gaddar" (traitor). He allegedly referred to the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis in which Shinde led the collapse of Uddhav Thackeray’s state government.
The programme called ‘Naya Bharat’ which was recorded in February, was uploaded on Kamra’s YouTube channel on March 23, drawing strong reactions from the Shiv Sainiks.
Shiv Sena leaders condemned his remarks, demanding an unconditional apology from him.
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