Bengaluru: Hindu Janajagruti Samiti ask police to revoke permission for Vir Das' show

The 'Hindu Janajagruti Samiti' accused Vir Das of portraying India in a derogatory manner. A complaint was filed against the comedian actor at the Vyalikaval police station in Karnataka. According to the complaint, Vir Das' comments cast a negative light on India around the world.

The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti claimed on Monday that comedian Vir Das' show 'hurts religious sentiments of Hindu(s)' and demanded that police cancel a show scheduled for November 10 in Bengaluru. The fringe group wrote in a complaint filed at the city's Vyalikaval Police Station, "... it is not appropriate to allow such a controversial figure to hold a programme in a communally sensitive area like Bangalore. When Karnataka is already dealing with many law-and-order issues resulting from communal incidents, such events could undermine law and order and should not be permitted. We demand that this programme be cancelled right away."

The group also mentioned Das' controversial remark about "two Indias" at a show in the United States last November: "... earlier he made derogatory statements against women, our prime minister, and India at John F Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.... denigrated the nation."

"'In India, we worship women during the day and rape them at night,' he said... a case was filed by Mumbai (and) Delhi Police. It's a serious crime," the group stressed. 

When this report was published, neither Das nor the show's organisers responded.

Police in Bengaluru stopped a show by another controversial comedian, Munawar Faruqui, in August. The show was officially cancelled as the organisers did not get permission. Faruqui later said that it was cancelled due to health concerns.

In November of last year, Bengaluru police cancelled a Faruqui show after threats from right-wing groups. According to reports, the police requested it is cancelled because Faruqui would speak 'against communities' and leave the show vulnerable to vandalism.

Faruqui, who was arrested in January during a show in Madhya Pradesh's Indore for alleged hate speech during one of his shows, hinted at the time that he would quit stand-up.

Das also posted an Instagram video in August where he joked about comedians in India being punished for 'hurting sentiments.'