Kunal Kamra controversy: Mumbai Police arrest 12 people for Habitat comedy Club vandalism

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Police on Monday arrested 12 people for vandalising the Habitat Comedy Club in Khar, where standup artiste Kunal Kamra performed his recent show for YouTube ‘Naya Bharat’.

Police earlier arrested 11 members of the Yuva Sena, the youth faction of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and presented them in the Bandra Magistrate Court.

Additionally, Rahul Kanal, a leader of the Eknath Shinde group, was also arrested. Altogether, 12 people have been taken into custody in connection with the incident.

A case has been registered against them under two sections BNS 132 and BNS 333 (non-bailable) along with other sections. Kanal’s lawyer called both sections illegal.

Police said that all these people went to the club and engaged in vandalism that’s why Section 132 has been imposed and it is non-bailable.
The lawyer of the accused said that the first FIR was registered at MIDC police station.

The accused were sent to judicial custody and the lawyer filed a bail application.

The group was protesting against the alleged derogatory remarks made by standup comedian Kunal Kamra on his recent comedy special, ‘Naya Bharat,’ uploaded on YouTube.

According to police, the youth group went inside the venue while a live show of comedian Rajat Sood was going on, forcing it to stop and vandalise it.

Shiv Sena has strongly objected to the comments made by Kamra, meanwhile the Opposition alliance in Maharahstra has criticised the Mahayuti government for the “break down of law and order”, which UBT’s Arvind Sawant saying that every word spoken by Kamra is correct.

#WATCH | Kunal Kamra row: Mumbai Police bring Shiv Sena Yuva Sena (Shinde faction) General Secretary Rahool Kanal out of Khar Police Station. Details awaited.

Police have arrested 11 people in connection with the vandalism at studio after registering case against them. pic.twitter.com/Ss6yjl5te7

— ANI (@ANI) March 24, 2025

Earlier, Officials had registered an FIR under Sections 132, 189(2), 189(3), 190, 191(2), 324(5), 324(6), 223, 351(2), 352, 333, 37(1), and 135 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and also under sections 37 (1) and 135 under the Maharashtra Police Act.

Shinde Sena’s Sanjay Nirupam alleged that the booking money for the show came from Matoshree, the residence of former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

“The place where this show was recorded, the booking money for it came from Matoshree from Uddav Thackeray and that is why Eknath Shinde has been targeted,” Nirupam said during a press conference in Mumbai.

He further alleged that Kamra is part of the “Rahul Gandhi and Congress ecosystem.” An FIR has also been registered against Kunal Kamra for his alleged derogatory remarks. However, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawat backed the comments made by Kamra, saying that every sentence he made was correct.

Sawant emphasized that if democracy truly exists in the country, Kamra’s remarks must be respected.

“As far as what Kunal Kamra did, I think every word, every sentence said by him is correct. That is what everyone in opposition is alleging against him. He said that in the form of a poem. If we say there is democracy in this country and we believe in that, then we must accept all of this,” Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant said.

He added, “Criticism is criticism. Sometimes, someone does mimicry. Balasaheb Thackeray was a renowned cartoonist; he made caricatures of Sharad Pawar, Sonia Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Nehru. Had it been the present time, they would have filed cases against him every day… FIR should be registered against those who vandalized… Can’t they accept criticism?” (ANI)