Audience called as witness in case against comedian Kunal Kamra

Mumbai: A banker who attended Kunal Kamra’s controversial show was called as a witness in a case against the comedian for allegedly making remarks against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, police said on Wednesday.

However, the police later informed the Navi Mumbai-based banker that his presence was not immediately required.

Kamra took to social media to express regret over the inconvenience caused to the banker and offered to arrange a holiday for him somewhere in India. The comedian also shared a media report stating that the banker’s vacation was affected due to the police summons.

On Tuesday, the police had denied reports that audience members from Kamra’s show were being called to record their statements. However, a senior police officer said the banker, who had booked tickets for the show through the BookMyShow app on March 29, was initially summoned via a phone call.

The officer added that the investigating team had first contacted the banker and asked him to appear at Khar police station to record his statement.

Later, after some developments in the case, the police informed him that his presence was not immediately necessary and that his statement could be taken at a later stage if required.

According to reports, the banker was scheduled to return from vacation on April 6 but had to return to Mumbai on Monday due to the summons.

Meanwhile, on March 28, the Madras High Court granted interim anticipatory bail to Kamra in the case. Justice Sunder Mohan also issued a notice to Khar police and scheduled the next hearing for April 7.