Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra failed to appear before the Mumbai Police on Saturday in a case filed against him for allegedly calling Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde a “traitor.” This is the third time that Kamra has skipped the police summons, an official said.
Kamra secured an interim anticipatory bail in the matter till April 7 from Madras High Court but was expected to join the inquiry earlier this week. As he did not show up, the Khar police served a third summons to him asking him to join the probe by April 5.
Kamra shot a video lampooning Shinde over the split in the Shiv Sena, and party workers later ransacked the studio and the hotel in which it is located on the night of March 23.
Three FIRs registered against the comedian at Nashik Rural, Jalgaon, and Nashik (Nandgaon) have been transferred to Khar police station.
BookMyShow removes Kamra from platform, claims Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena functionary Rahool Kanal on Saturday claimed that BookMyShow has removed Kunal Kamra from its list of artists and the platform’s sales listings.
Kanal, the social media in-charge of Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, thanked BookMyShow CEO Ashish Hemrajani for keeping its portal “clean and keeping such artist out of the list of pure entertainment.”
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The BookMyShow team said they have no comments to offer as of now, news agency PTI reported.
Reacting to these reports, Kamra asked BookMyShow to confirm if he can still list his shows on their platform. “If not, it’s fine. I understand,” he wrote in a post on X.
Kanal, in a letter to Hemrajani, wrote “I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for your continued support of you team to take the said artist out of your sale and promotion listing, thank you for even taking him out of the book my show search history. Your belief in maintaining peace and at the same time respecting our emotions has been instrumental.”
Hello @bookmyshow can you please confirm if I have your platform to list my shows if not it’s fine. I understand… https://t.co/JqjJtuWFE3
— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) April 5, 2025
He said Mumbaikars love and believe in every form of art but not personal agendas. “Your personal touch and guidance by your team were invaluable in navigating and reaching a solution. We deeply value your commitment to BookMyShow’s values that align with the support, and customer experience, your vision and leadership are truly inspiring, thank you for giving us your team and getting this cleared at the earliest. Thank you,” Kanal said.
Kanal was booked along with Shiv Sainiks for allegedly vandalising the studio where Kamra had performed and alluded to Shinde while making a traitor jibe, which snowballed into a major row.
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Mumbai Police has issued three notices to Kamra, believed to be in Puducherry, seeking his personal appearance, but he has skipped all of them.
Kunal Kamra’s 5-step guide on how to kill an artist ‘democratically’
Earlier this week, Kamra took to social media to post a sharp critique on how artists are silenced through outrage, intimidation, and institutional pressure. His post, titled ‘How to Kill an Artist ‘Democratically’, comes amid mounting legal trouble and police action against him for allegedly mocking Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in a stand-up performance.
In a strongly worded post on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, Kamra detailed a “step-by-step guide” to silencing artists democratically. He described a process of growing outrage leading to brand disassociations, drying up of private and corporate gigs, the refusal of major venues to host them, and eventually, pressure from authorities that leaves artists with the stark choice of self-censorship or professional ruin.
Kamra’s post came just a day after he criticised the Mumbai Police for attempting to locate him at an outdated address in connection with an ongoing investigation.
(With inputs from PTI)