Comedian Daniel Fernandes cancels Hyderabad show citing safety concerns
Hyderabad: Comedian Daniel Fernandes has decided to cancel his scheduled show in Hyderabad, citing concerns over the safety of his audience, crew, and himself.
Daniel Fernandes canceled his show 'Do you Know Who I Am?' which was supposed to take place at the Heart Cup Coffee located in Hyderabad's Jubilee Hills.
Fernandes expressed his apprehensions, stating, "Nobody is ready to guarantee the safety of my audience, crew, and myself."
"We had to reschedule tonight's shows in Hyderabad because of the unrest caused by my last video. The video that has offended people has been taken down, and I posted an apology today. However, we are still receiving calls, messages and emails threatening us with violence and vandalism," he said in a video posted on his Instagram page.
The decision comes after BJP MLA Raja Singh urged him to cancel the show, following comments made by Fernandes regarding Jains from Delhi dressing up as Muslims to buy goats on Eid.
T Raja Singh, in a video had said that if Fernandes did not cancel the show, "our workers will come there and thrash you". Known for his outspoken views, Singh also called on the authorities to prevent the show from happening.
Singh's request invoked memories of the Munawar Faruqui incident, which sparked controversy in the past.
Faruqui, another comedian, was arrested in January 2021 in Indore for allegedly making objectionable remarks about Hindu deities, sparking widespread controversy and debates on freedom of expression.
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MP cruise boat tragedy: Search ops expanded to trace four missing passengers
Jabalpur (PTI): Army divers and disaster response teams on Saturday expanded their search at Bargi Dam in Madhya Pradesh to locate a man and three children still missing after the cruise boat tragedy that claimed nine lives two days ago, officials said.
With 28 of the 41 identified passengers onboard the ill-fated cruise boat rescued safely, police are preparing to register an FIR in connection with the accident that occurred at the reservoir in Jabalpur district on Thursday evening, they said.
The search radius has been expanded to 5 km in the backwaters of the Bargi Dam, located downstream of the Narmada River, area sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra told PTI.
Nine people drowned in the incident, while 28 were rescued, and efforts are ongoing to trace the missing persons, he said.
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According to the police, more than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, began the search operation at 5 am on Saturday to trace Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory in Khamaria, his son Tamil (5), Vijay Soni (6) and Mayuram (5).
Mishra said that an inquest case has been registered and the post-mortem of nine deceased persons has been completed.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will soon register an FIR," he said.
Investigators have said that CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the ill-fated boat, and the names of 41 persons, who boarded the vessel, have been ascertained so far.
Collector Raghvendra Singh confirmed that a search is underway for four missing persons.
The rescue operation, being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local divers, was briefly affected around 9 am due to strong winds.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the incident and dismissed three crew members after survivors alleged negligence and safety lapses, including failure to provide life jackets.
The government also banned the operation of similar vessels in the state.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, sank during a sudden storm around 6 pm on Thursday, and the wreckage was retrieved from the dam water on Friday, after the rescuers confirmed that there were no more bodies inside.
Eyewitnesses have said that strong winds made the water choppy, prompting passengers to raise an alarm and ask the crew to steer the vessel towards the riverbank.
A survivor alleged negligence by the crew and described a last-minute scramble for life jackets.
