No notices issued to members of audience who attended Kunal Kamra’s comedy show: Police

Kunal Kamra

The police on Tuesday clarified no notices had been issued to audience members who attended stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra's show in Mumbai where he made critical remarks targeting Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde without naming him.

A senior police officer insisted they had not summoned any of the audience members who attended the show organised at a city studio for inquiry or to record their statements after Kamra's jokes sparked a massive controversy and led to filing of multiple FIRs against him.

Angered over the remarks, workers of the Shiv Sena, which is led by Shinde, vandalised the studio late last month. The 36-year-old comedian, on his X handle, had mentioned about summoning the audience for questioning.

A section of the media also reported about police "issuing" notices to the audience and opposition leaders latched on to the reports to hit out at the BJP-led Mahayuti government in the state. The police have filed a case against Kamra under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to defamation and public mischief and as part of the probe.

The case was filed after the comedian last month posted a video where he sang a parody song targeting Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, with a ‘traitor' jibe without naming him, but ostensibly referring to his 2022 rebellion against then-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. So far, police have issued two summonses to Kamra, asking him to appear before them in connection with the case registered at the Khar police station, but he has not responded to them.