The investigation revealed that a woman, fearing her partner’s departure after living together for long, knew he kept business money at her place. She shared this information with her brother-in-law, leading to their theft plan
Mumbai Police are investigating if Kunal Kamra’s jokes targeting Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde were part of a conspiracy and whether the comic received money or any other form of help to mock the Maharashtra Chief Minister, sources have said.
A team from Khar police station visited Kunal Kamra’s Mumbai home, where his parents say, with a summons, asking the comic to appear for questioning in connection with the cases against him. Since the comic is believed to have left the state, the summons has been sent to his WhatsApp number too. Kamra faces multiple charges, including defamation and statements conducing to public mischief.
According to Mumbai police sources, they are trying to find out if Kunal received money or any other help to target Eknath Shinde. They are also probing if someone helped the comic write the lines he used against the Sena chief. Police have said Kunal Kamra’s phone and other devices may be examined during the probe.
In a show shot at Mumbai’s Habitat studio, Kunal Kamra targeted Mr Shinde with a parody of ‘Bholi Si Surat’, a popular song from the 1997 blockbuster Dil To Pagal Hai. He used the ‘gaddar’ (traitor) jibe against the Shiv Sena leader, who led a rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray in 2022, bringing down his government and splitting the party.
Upset with the remarks, Shiv Sena workers vandalised the studio, a preferred venue for stand-up comedy shows. Mr Shinde has said he did not support the vandalism, but cited party workers’ sentiments and said, “every action has a reaction”. He has also asked who gave Kunal Kamra “supari” to target him.
Besides the vandalism, the studio also faced a demolition exercise with civic officials alleging building law violations. The studio announced it has decided to shut down for now and said it was not responsible for the content in performers’ shows. “We have never been involved in the content performed by any Artist, but the recent events have made us rethink about how we get blamed and targeted every time almost like we are a proxy for the performer,” it said.
In a statement issued late last night, Kunal Kamra said the studio or any political party was not responsible for his remarks. “An entertainment venue is merely a platform. A space for all sorts of shows. Habitat (or any other venue) is not responsible for my comedy, nor does it have any power or control over what I say or do. Neither does any political party. Attacking a venue for a comedian’s words is as senseless as overturning a lorry carrying tomatoes, because you didn’t like the butter chicken you were served,” he said in a post on X.
He said he does not fear the mob and won’t be hiding. The comic said he was willing to cooperate with police and courts. “But will the law be fairly and equally deployed against those who have decided that vandalism is the appropriate response to being offended by a joke? And against the unelected members of the BMC, who have arrived today at Habitat, without prior notice, and tore the place down with hammers?” he asked.
The Opposition, meanwhile, has backed the comic and slammed the Maharashtra government for going after him. Uddhav Thackeray, Mr Shinde’s former boss, said Kunal Kamra has told the truth. “It was not satire. Those who steal are ‘gaddar’. There is no ‘freedom of expression’ when it comes to traitors,” the Sena (UBT) chief has said.
Canada on Monday said Pakistan could interfere in its April 28 general election to counter India’s “growing global influence”. Vanessa Lloyd, the deputy director of operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), said Islamabad could conduct foreign interference activities against Canada.
“The government of Pakistan could potentially conduct foreign interference activities against Canada in line with its strategic aims to promote political, security and economic stability in Pakistan and to counter India’s growing global influence,” she told a press conference.
Ms Lloyd also said that New Delhi could interfere in the election.
“We have also seen that the government of India has the intent and capability to interfere in Canadian communities and democratic processes to assert its geopolitical influence,” she said.
Canada had levelled similar allegations against the two countries last year, a charge unequivocally rejected by New Delhi.
The spy agency in April 2024 released an unclassified summary tabled as part of a federal inquiry examining potential foreign interference, alleging “clandestine” activities by both India and Pakistan during the 2021 and 2019 general elections.
It alleged that in 2021, the Indian government targeted specific electoral districts believed to harbour Indian-origin voters sympathetic to the Khalistani movement or pro-Pakistan stances.
The agency also claimed that a government proxy agent may have attempted to sway democratic processes through illicit financial support to favoured candidates, potentially remaining undisclosed to the recipients.
In a separate report, the agency accused Pakistan of covertly trying to influence politics at the federal level before the 2019 election to advance Pakistan’s interests.
India called the probe “baseless” and said that it was Canada who was interfering in its internal affairs.
Tensions between India and Canada simmered after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged New Delhi’s involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India dismissed the accusation as “absurd.”
Besides India and Pakistan, Canada’s spy agency said that China and Russia could also interfere in its polls, announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney on Sunday.
“The PRC (People’s Republic of China) is highly likely to use AI-enabled tools to attempt to interfere with Canada’s democratic process in this current election,” Vanessa Lloyd told reporters.
Beijing is also “highly likely” to use social media to promote narratives favourable to its interests – and to specifically target Chinese ethnic, cultural and religious communities in Canada using “clandestine and deceptive” means, she said.
Russia has tried to build “dissemination networks” across social media and news websites that “amplify Kremlin talking points,” she said.
“It is possible that Russia will use these online networks to opportunistically conduct foreign information manipulation and interference operations directed at Canadians,” Ms Lloyd said.