Comedian who ‘mimicked’ dera chief held twice

January 14, 2016

Kaithal/Fatehabad, Jan 14: Comedian Kiku Sharda, best known for his role of Palak in popular TV show ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’, was granted bail hours after he was arrested by the Kaithal police for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments by mimicking Dera Sacha Sauda sect head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

deraHowever, as Kiku was on his way to Delhi shortly after his release on bail, he was arrested again at Fatehabad where a separate case was registered against him, also under IPC Section 295-A (hurting religious sentiments), Kaithal SP Kishan Murari said. Kiku would be produced before a court tomorrow, he said.

Initially, Kiku was arrested from Mumbai and produced before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Nandita Kaushik, who had sent him to 14-day judicial custody. The actor was released on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh in the evening after the police

submitted that they were not averse to his release. The bail order came after the Dera head tweeted, "I was busy shooting OnlineGurukul; just got to know devotees are hurt due to Kiku's action. If he has apologised, no complaint from my side." The arrest was made following a complaint by dera followers Uday Singh and Dalsher Singh. The comedian was booked on December 31.

Dera followers had alleged that Kiku had hurt their feelings by mimicking sect head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in an episode of a TV show aired on December 27. Talking to media after his arrest, Kiku apologised and said he was an artist and “presented the programme on the directions of the TV channel and programme producers”. “I was given a dress, script to read and directed to act," he said, adding that he had been booked but no action was taken against others, including the TV channel. He said his aim was only to entertain people and not to hurt the religious feelings and sentiments of anyone.

Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar said the government has nothing to do with it. “It’s a matter of law and order. An FIR has been registered and police will take action," he said.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Bihar, Mar 5: A complaint has been filed before a court in Bihar against lyricist Javed Akhtar over his remarks on the FIRs being registered against expelled AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in the wake of Delhi riots.

The complaint was lodged on Wednesday by Amit Kumar, a local advocate, before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Thakur Aman Kumar.

On the basis of a newspaper report, the complainant has alleged that Akhtar's remarks were seditious and promoted religious hatred.

The media report was based on Akhtar's tweet of February 27 that "So many killed, so many injured, so many houses burned, so many shops looted so many people turned destitute but police has sealed only one house and looking for his owner. Incidentally, his name is Tahir. Hats off to the consistency of the Delhi police."

The violence in northeast Delhi claimed at least 42 lives and left over 200 injured. The former Rajya Sabha member was heavily trolled for the tweet.

In a subsequent tweet, Akhtar who asserted that he is a non-believer and a rationalist, had clarified that he was not asking "why Tahir but why ONLY Tahir and not even an FIR against those who have openly threatened violence in the presence of the police".

The matter is likely to come up for hearing on March 25.

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Agencies
August 9,2020

Mumbai, Aug 9:The questioning of Rhea Chakraborty's brother Showik by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), in connection with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, continued till around 6:30 am on Sunday, according to sources in the ED.

It is noteworthy that Showik Chakraborty had reached the ED office at around 12 pm on Saturday afternoon, following which the questioning by the investigative agency's officials went on for about 18 hours.

Tomorrow on August 10, Rhea, alongwith her father, Indrajit Chakraborty, are to be questioned by the ED officials.

Showik is named in the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Rhea was earlier questioned by the ED at its office in Mumbai in connection with the case. The agency also questioned Showik and Shruti Modi, former business manager of Rajput.

According to sources in the investigation agency, the officials have got hold of electronic evidence in connection with the case and they are also searching for phone records of conversations between Rhea and her father and brother.

The ED had already questioned Rhea once on Saturday, following which she was called back on Monday.

Meanwhile, CBI has collected documents related to the actor's death from Bihar Police. The ED has also asked the late actor's friend, Siddharth Pithani, to appear before the agency on August 8.

The agency had on July 31 registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in the case after FIR was filed by KK Singh, the late actor's father, against Rhea in Bihar on July 28.
The ED earlier interrogated Samuel Miranda, an associate of Rhea over the latter's properties, sources said.

The investigating agency has registered a case against six accused including Rhea in connection with Rajput's death.

Rajput was found dead at his Mumbai residence on June 14.

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News Network
June 6,2020

Indore, Jun 6: An FIR has been registered against television producer Ekta Kapoor and two others here in Madhya Pradesh on charges of spreading obscenity, hurting religious feelings, and improper use of national emblems in her web show 'Triple X season 2', police said on Saturday.

The FIR also mentions about a particular scene which allegedly portrays the Indian Army's uniform in a highly objectionable way, an officer said.

Besides Kapoor, the FIR names director of the web series Pankhudi Rodrigues and screenwriter Jessica Khurana, said Annapurna police station inspector Satish Kumar Dwivedi.

The complaint was lodged on Friday night by Valmik Sakaragaye and Neeraj Yagnik, both residents of Indore.

"Ekta Kapoor's OTT platform ALTBalaji streamed (erotic) web series 'Triple X season 2' which not only spread obscenity but also hurt religious feelings of a particular community," Dwivedi said quoting the complaint.

A scene in the web show portrayed the Indian Army's uniform in a highly objectionable manner and also disrespected the national emblems, he said.

Kapoor and others have been booked under sections 294 (obscene acts and songs) and 298 (Uttering, words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person) of the Indian Penal Code, Information Technology (IT) Act, and the State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005, Dwivedi said.

Mumbai-based Ekta Kapoor is the founder of ALTBalaji, which is owned by her production house, Balaji Telefilms.

Further investigation is underway, the police officer said.

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