Kunal Kamra show: Sena functionary, 11 others held for ransacking venue

Mumbai: The Mumbai 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 CM Eknath Shinde, an official said.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai police also registered a case against nearly 40 Shiv Sena workers.

During his performance at the Habitat Comedy Club at the Unicontinental hotel in Khar area, Kamra had referred to Shinde as a "traitor" and went on to sing a parody on him.

Kamra used a modified version of a Hindi song from the movie Dil Toh Pagal Hai to describe the 2022 rebellion of Shinde against his then boss Uddhav Thackeray.

After a video went viral showing Kamra allegedly using defamatory words against Shinde, Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel lodged a police complaint.

Based on the complaint, the MIDC police here registered a First Information Report (FIR) in the early hours of Monday against Kamra under various Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) actions, including 353(1)(b) (statements conducing to public mischief) and 356(2) (defamation), an official said.

A large number of Shiv Sena workers on Sunday night gathered outside Hotel Unicontinental, where the studio is located. They allegedly ransacked the studio and the hotel premises, the police said.

They were shouting slogans like "Shiv Sena Zindabad". When the police intervened, they allegedly pushed the on-duty police personnel and also manhandled the hotel staffers. They were later brought to the police station for further probe, Saed said.

The case against the Shiv Sainiks was registered under various BNS sections, including for damaging private property and unlawful assembly, the official added.

The video of Kamra's jibe at Shinde was also posted on X by rival Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut by saying “Kunal Ka Kamal”.

"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 had told reporters Monday morning, a day after he and other Shiv Sena workers ransacked the venue of Kamra’s show.

“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," Kanal had 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). Kanal and 11 others were arrested on Monday for ransacking the place, a police official said.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske on Sunday warned Kamra that he would be chased by the party workers throughout the country. “You will be forced to flee India,” he said in a video message.

Calling Kamra a “contract comedian”, Mhaske said he should not have stepped on the “tail of a snake (apparently referring to Shinde)”.

“Once the fangs are out, there will be dire consequences,” he warned.

Notably, the Habitat Studio, where Kamra's show was held, is the same venue where the controversial 'India's Got Latent' show had been filmed.

Sena (UBT) legislator Aaditya Thackeray, however, slammed the vandalism at the show venue, calling it a "cowardly" act.

In a post on X late Sunday night, Thackeray said, “Mindhe’s coward gang breaks the comedy show stage where comedian @kunalkamra88 put out a song on eknath mindhe, which was 100 per cent true. Only an insecure coward would react to a song by someone.”