Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, who sparked controversy after he made controversial remarks about Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde during one of his events, has been issued a third summons by Mumbai’s Khar Police, asking him to appear for questioning on Saturday.
The latest summons follows two previous attempts by the police to call the stand-up comedian in for investigation, but he failed to show up for either of the earlier summons. Kamra came under fire after his comment on Shinde was understood to be an indirect swipe at him.
The video, which aired following Kamra’s performance at the Habitat Comedy Club in Khar, saw the comedian using a modified version of a popular Bollywood song from ‘Dil To Pagal Hai.’ “Meri nazar se tum dekho toh, gaddar nazar wo aaye. Haaye,” Kunal Kamra said during his show, which was understood to be a jibe at Shinde.
The comments were perceived to be made in the context of the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis, which led to the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government, and resulted in multiple FIRs being filed against Kamra.
Following the release of Kamra’s video on March 23, Shiv Sena workers, angered by his remarks, vandalized the Unicontinental Hotel in Khar, where Kamra had recorded the video. This incident led to the arrest of 12 Shinde supporters, who were later granted bail.
In response to the summons, Kamra had earlier stated he was unavailable in Mumbai due to prior commitments and offered to appear for questioning on April 2.
However, the police did not accept his request for a delayed appearance. Kamra’s lawyer, V. Suresh, had expressed concerns about Kamra’s safety, claiming he had received threats from certain Maharashtra Cabinet ministers.
Mumbai’s Khar Police Station is investigating the matter, with two FIRs already filed against Kamra for derogatory remarks. In addition, three more FIRs filed against him in different parts of Maharashtra have been combined into the Mumbai investigation.
The police have confirmed that Kamra is not currently in contact with the Khar police station. Kamra has been granted protection from arrest until April 7 by the Madras High Court, but the latest summons indicates that the investigation is moving forward despite his earlier refusals to comply.
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