15 VHP activists detained as Kunal Kamra’s Hyderabad show proceeds peacefully
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Hyderabad: Police detained 15 activists of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) in preventive custody on Sunday after they arrived at a venue in Hyderabad where stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra was scheduled to perform.
Kamra’s show, “Standing Up”, was held at TGSRTC Kalabhavan amid tight security and concluded without disruption, police said.
According to officials, the activists reached the venue in a bus and raised slogans against the comedian, calling him “anti-Hindu”. Chikkadpally police said the group comprised 10 to 15 people and that the situation did not escalate.
“Fifteen people were taken into preventive custody when they came there to hold a protest,” a police official said, adding that the show was held peacefully.
An attendee, Mahnoor Sahrash, said there was a heavy police presence outside the venue. She said a bus carrying people opposed to the show arrived at the venue but was no longer visible after about 10 minutes. She also said she saw a person recording a video in which the show and Kamra were described as anti-national.
The Hyderabad unit of Bajrang Dal had earlier threatened to disrupt the event, accusing Kamra of making objectionable remarks about Hindu deities Ram and Sita. The group said it had submitted a complaint to the Hyderabad police seeking cancellation of permission for the show.
“We will stop the anti-Hindu Kunal Kamra show scheduled for today at TGRTC Kala Bhavan, RTC X Roads, Hyderabad. Kunal Kamra always criticises the Hindu gods Ram and Sita. Cases have also been filed against him at many places earlier. We have filed a complaint with the Hyderabad police not to give permission for the event. If the event continues today, we, along with a large number of Bajrang Dal and VHP workers, will definitely stop it,” the group said in a statement quoted by ANI.
Attendees said two shows were initially planned at Visvesvaraya Bhavan in Khairatabad at 3 pm and 6 pm. One of them was later cancelled and the venue was shifted to TGSRTC Kalabhavan.
Kamra has faced protests in the past as well. In March 2025, he referred to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as a “traitor” in his special “Naya Bharat”, following which supporters of Shinde’s Shiv Sena vandalised the Mumbai venue where the show was recorded. Mumbai police registered an FIR against the comedian, while the Madras High Court granted him interim anticipatory bail.