Remarks against Shinde: Comedian Kamra appears before Maharashtra council's privileges committee
Mumbai (PTI): Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra on Tuesday appeared before the Maharashtra legislative council's privileges committee regarding his alleged remarks against Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
However, in the absence of the main complainant, the hearing has been rescheduled to March 10, said the committee's chairperson, Prasad Lad.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare also appeared before the panel.
Kamra and Andhare later informed reporters that their statements were not recorded during the hearing, as BJP leader Pravin Darekar, the main complainant, was absent.
When asked about his reaction to a threat by the Shiv Sena, which had warned him of dire consequences if he visited Mumbai, Kamra said he felt safe.
Lad said, "Kamra told the committee that he was ready to record his statement now. However, it wouldn't be appropriate to record his statement in the absence of the complainant. It was decided that statements from both sides would be recorded on the same day, and after discussing with Darekar, it was decided to keep the hearing on March 10 at 4 PM."
Andhare also referenced the incident last year when the studio where Kamra performed was vandalised, which occurred after his parody song about Shinde.
"We wanted to know what the charges against us are," she added.
Darekar had moved a breach of privilege notice against Kamra and Andhare for "derogatory remarks" against Shiv Sena leader Shinde, whose party is a constituent of the BJP-led Mahayuti.
Kamra, who has often courted controversy for his anti-establishment views, targeted Shinde in a song parody last year, obliquely referring to him as a traitor.
Andhare had supported Kamra.
The comedian, during his performance at the 'Unicontinental Mumbai' hotel in Khar area of Mumbai, had used a modified version of a Hindi song from the movie "Dil To Pagal Hai" to describe the 2022 rebellion of Shinde against Uddhav Thackeray.
A group of Shiv Sena workers reached the hotel and ransacked its office.
Earlier this month, Kamra had dismissed media reports claiming that he had sought an adjournment from the privileges committee as "incorrect".
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Bengaluru narcotics crackdown: 15 held, drugs worth Rs 10.59 cr seized
Bengaluru (PTI): Fifteen people, including three foreign nationals, have been arrested for allegedly peddling banned narcotic substances across Bengaluru, police said on Tuesday.
The arrests were made in joint operations carried out in different police station limits following specific inputs about drug trafficking activities.
“The CCB Narcotics Control Wing and police stations under various limits of Bengaluru City have arrested a total of 15 persons, including three foreign nationals and 12 persons from other states, for selling banned narcotic substances such as hydroponic ganja, MDMA, cocaine, LSD pills, LSD strips, hashish oil and ganja,” the press release issued by the Office of the Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City, stated.
Cases were registered under the NDPS Act based on credible information received on different dates that banned narcotic substances were being sold within the limits of the CCB Narcotics Control Wing and the police stations of Amruthahalli, Hebbagodi, JB Nagar, Sheshadripuram, Mahalakshmi Layout and Govindapura.
“Acting on the information, raids were conducted at the identified locations and a total of 15 people, including three foreign nationals and 12 persons from other states, were apprehended on different dates,” the release said.
According to police, during interrogation, the accused admitted that they were involved in drug peddling for quick money.
“During interrogation, the accused confessed that with the intention of making quick money, they procured banned narcotic substances such as hydroponic ganja, ganja, MDMA, cocaine, LSD pills, LSD strips and hashish oil from unidentified foreign and out-of-state persons and were selling them to the public, college students and IT/BT employees,” it said.
Police said a large quantity of drugs and other materials were seized from the accused.
“The seized items include 9 kg 460 grams of hydroponic ganja, 5 kg 677 grams of MDMA, 34 kg of ganja, 131 grams of cocaine, 462 ml of hashish oil, 29 LSD pills, 27 grams of LSD strips, one car, one two-wheeler and four mobile phones. The total value of the seized property is Rs 10.59 crore (market value Rs 21.50 crore),” the release stated.
In addition, Rs 24,500 in cash was also seized from the accused.
Efforts are underway to trace the foreign and other suppliers who provided the banned narcotic substances to the arrested persons, they said.
Investigation in the case is in progress.
