Hyderabad: Standup comedian Rafiq, who was picked up by the Andhra Pradesh police, has been let go from after an apology and promise of posting only positive things about actor-turned-politician and Jana Sena Party (JSP) president Pawan Kalyan. He was reportedly threatened by JSP workers over his jokes on Kalyan he made in the past.
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Rafiz on April 15 under section 352 (2) of the BNS based on a complaint by a member of the Jana Sena Party named Sayana Sivannarayana. Following that he was taken by policemen to Machlipatnam over the issue.
“Two days ago, cops from Machlipatnam district in AP turned up a Rafiq’s house in Vizag, and held him in connection with complaints over his videos mocking Pawan Kalyan. A dozen JSP workers had turned up at the police station demanding an apology as well. Once he apologised they let him go on the condition he that he will post positive contest,” the source told Siasat.com.
Pawan Kalyan is currently the current Deputy Chief Minister of AP. Rafiq also joked about AP IT minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) general secretary Nara Lokesh. The standup comedian was let go by the police and is currently back home in Vizag. “The police did not give an FIR copy. He was let go after giving the assurance to the JSP workers,” said the source.
Jana Sena workers were waited for Rafiq at the PS
“The Jana Sena workers were waiting for him at the police station. The cops did not misbehave in anyway and in fact prevented something untoward from happening. The case against him and Anudeep were both booked because of political pressure from the top,” the source said, alluding to the fact that it was politically motivated to keep the comedians in “check”.
Earlier this week another comedian Anudeep Katikala was also arrested from Allahabad by the Kakinada police for jokes he cracked on Kalyan as well. The FIR against him had been registered in Kakinada against him on the basis of a complaint filed by a man named Bade Venkata Krishna of the Jana Sena Party, which is headed by Pawan Kalyan. Anudeep is currently out on bail.
What Anudeep and Rafiq said about Pawan Kalyan
Trouble began first when a video of Katikala’s stand-up set circulated on YouTube. In it, he called Tollywood actor Ram Charan a “feminist” – framing it as a compliment – for appearing unbothered by the fact that his wife Upasana is wealthier than him. He then joked that people should take a leaf from Pawan Kalyan’s book when it came to divorce, noting that neither of Kalyan’s two ex-wives had accused him of abuse.
Ram Charan is the son of Tollywood veteran Chiranjeevi, while Pawan Kalyan is Chiranjeevi’s younger brother. The videos drew immediate and, in some cases, violent threats from fans. Katikala subsequently apologised, telling The News Minute on April 12 that his intent had been to normalise feminism and the idea of divorce. “The video includes a joke on Jr NTR, who I am a fan of,” he said.
