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.
Team Clarion
MUMBAI — A magistrate’s court in Mumbai’s Bandra on Monday granted bail to 12 Shiv Sena workers, including Rahul Kanal, who were arrested for vandalising a Mumbai hotel venue where comedian Kunal Kamra performed a standup show. They were released on personal bonds of ₹15,000.
Comedian Kunal Kamra reportedly made the controversial ‘traitor’ jibe against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
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, reports PTI.
Controversy erupted after Kamra posted a video on Saturday of his performance at the Habitat Comedy Club in Khar, where he mocked Shinde. Kamra called Shinde a “traitor” in reference to his 2022 rebellion against then-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, which resulted in the split of the Shiv Sena.
Kamra also performed a parody of a song from the Bollywood film Dil To Pagal Hai, mocking Shinde’s appearance and his alliance with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
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. — WIth inputs from PTI
