Days after taking a dig on Maharashtra police for “wasting time and public resources” as they visited his former residence, comedian Kunal Kamra has now publicly apologised to a person who attended his stand-up show ‘Naya Bharat’, after the police allegedly issued a notice demanding his appearance before authorities as a witness in the case against the comedian. Interestingly, this apology also serves as another one of Kamra’s political statements as he had previously outrightly refused to apologise to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, whom he called “gaddar (traitor)” in his stand-up set.
On Wednesday, Kamra shared on X (formerly Twitter) a news article about a banking professional from Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, who was forced to cut short his trip to Tamil Nadu and Kerala after receiving a notice demanding his appearance before the Khar police for questioning as a witness in the defamation case against the comedian. The banker had received a call from the police on March 28 and a notice on his WhatsApp the following day, demanding his presence for questioning the next day, Times of India reported. “The officer who called me was skeptical about my out-of-town status and threatened to visit my Kharghar residence. This prompted me to cut short my trip and return early,” he said.
Sharing the article on social media, Kamra apologised for the inconvenience caused and promised to sponsor the audience member’s next vacation anywhere in India. “I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience that attending my show has caused to you. Please email me so that I can schedule your next vacation anywhere you’d like in India,” he wrote.
On Tuesday, news agency PTI reported that police had denied summoning audience members who attended Kamra’s show to record their statements. However, the latest reports suggest that the cops have, in fact, summoned audience members as witnesses. The Mumbai police have also issued a third summons to Kamra, asking him to appear on April 5 in connection with the case.
