Mumbai, Mar 24: Police on Monday arrested Shiv Sena functionary Rahul Kanal and 11 others for ransacking the venue at a Mumbai hotel where stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra made the controversial ‘traitor’ jibe against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Hours later, a magistrate’s court granted bail to all of them.
During his performance at the Habitat Comedy Club at the Unicontinental hotel in Khar area, Kamra had referred to Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, as a “traitor” and went on to sing a parody of him.
Enraged over the comments, Shiv Sena workers led by Kanal ransacked the venue of Kamra’s show on Sunday.
The Khar police have identified 19 people and named them in the FIR filed in connection with the incident. Also, 15 to 20 persons involved in the ransacking of the venue remain unidentified.
Police arrested 12 people, including Kanal — all affiliated to the Shinde-led Sena — earlier in the day and produced them before the magistrate’s court in Bandra.
The court remanded the accused to 14-day judicial custody following which they applied for bail. The magistrate allowed their plea and released them on a cash bond of Rs 15,000.
As per police, Kamra used a modified version of a Hindi song from the 1997 movie ‘Dil Toh Pagal Hai’ to mock Shinde over his 2022 rebellion against then-Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 9) Dixit Gedam said two separate offences were registered at the Khar police station — one against Kamra over his comments and the other against vandals.
“It is not about taking any law in your hands. It is purely about your self-respect. When it comes to elders or respectable citizens of the country when your elders are targeted, you will target someone of that mentality,” Kanal told reporters before his arrest.
“Abhi tak toh ye trailer hai, picture abhi baki hai. Whenever you are in Mumbai, you will get a good lesson in Shiv Sena style,” the Shiv Sena functionary warned Kamra.
Kanal said they had told the owner (of Habitat set) that there had been six FIRs against the place (over hosting controversial shows).
Fadnavis seeks Kamra’s apology for ‘insulting’ Shinde
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday sought stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra’s apology for “insulting” Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, while police arrested 12 workers of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena for ransacking the venue in Mumbai where Kamra made the ‘traitor’ jibe.
A local court later released Shiv Sena functionary Rahul Kanal and 11 others on bail.
Slamming Kamra’s remarks against Shinde, Fadnavis asserted that “urban Naxals” and “Left liberals” supporting such acts will be taught a lesson.
Mumbai police registered an FIR against Kamra for making defamatory remarks against Shinde, officials said.
The CPI (M) condemned the targeting of Kamra and the vandalism of the studio over his alleged defamatory remarks against Shinde.
The CPI (M) said this demonstrates that “mob violence is the only law” for BJP-led alliance regimes. The Left party said it stood with Kamra and his right to freedom of expression.
The studio in which Kamra filmed his show was on Monday demolished by Mumbai’s civic body for alleged building violations.
A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official said the temporary shed and other structures comprising the studio, which was created in the basement of the hotel, have been razed.
“It was removed as there is no civic permission to create a studio in the basement. The BMC will check the hotel to see if everything is as per the allowed plan,” the official said.
Earlier in the day, Habitat Studio announced they were shutting down after Shiv Sena workers vandalised its premises.
In an Instagram post, the studio said, “We are shocked, worried and extremely broken by the recent acts of vandalism targeting us.”
The studio said artists are solely responsible for their views and creative choices.
The BJP-led Mahayuti government wants to turn Maharashtra into a “Taliban-like” state, state Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal said.
“The attackers belong to a ruling party. Do they not trust their own government, the Constitution, the law and home department? Why did they take law into their own hands? Why did they resort to this attack when Kamra did not name Shinde,” Sapkal asked. (PTI)
