Mumbai, April 25: In a major relief for stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, the Bombay High Court on Friday granted him protection from arrest in connection with an FIR lodged over his satirical video and his controversial “gaddar” (traitor) remark aimed at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The court directed the Mumbai Police not to take any coercive action against Kamra, who is currently residing in Chennai.

The FIR had been filed following the circulation of a video in which Kamra allegedly mocked Shinde and referred to him as a “gaddar,” sparking outrage among the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) supporters.

While restraining the police from arresting the comedian, the court, however, allowed investigators to proceed with their inquiry.

It permitted the Mumbai Police to travel to Chennai to question Kamra, with the assistance of the local police.

The court said if the police file a charge sheet, the trial court should not proceed till the High Court decides the quashing petition filed by Kamra.

Kamra had filed a plea before the High Court seeking to quash the FIR filed against him.

Earlier on April 16, the High Court had granted him interim bail, which has now been made regular.

The FIR was filed at Khar police station following a complaint by Shiv Sena legislator Muraji Patel after Kamra, during a performance of his stand-up show Naya Bharat, allegedly referred to Shinde as a ‘gaddar’.

Kamra was initially granted interim anticipatory bail by the Madras High Court before he moved the Bombay High Court to seek quashing of the FIR and grant of regular bail.

The remark was purported as a reference to Shinde’s political defection from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena to join hands with the BJP, which led to a dramatic split in the party and the rise of a new ruling coalition MahaYuti.

Mumbai, April 25: Shiv Sena(UBT) in its mouthpiece Saamana on Friday said that the government should take quick action in the national interest in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, and not engage in a campaign, indirectly mentioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Bihar.

The editorial read: “The Pahalgam attack is inhumane, but blaming this case on Hindu-Muslim conflict is even more inhumane. Our fight is with Pakistan and terrorist groups. If anyone wants to defame Indian Muslims and Kashmiri people, then it indicates that they do not want to solve the country’s problems and want to politicise Pahalgam like Pulwama.”

It slammed the BJP’s IT cell, saying that “While all the tourists are saying that locals helped the tourists stranded in and around Pahalgam, it is shocking that the BJP’s ‘IT’ cell is trying to divide Hindus and Muslims in this incident as well. The attack in Pahalgam was not only on tourists, it was on us. The Kashmiri people have expressed their human feelings that we were hurt in it, which should be taken into account. Our fight is with Pakistan and terrorist groups.”

“The country has not yet recovered from the shock of the Pahalgam terror attack. Twenty-five lakh tourists from all over the country reached Kashmir due to the propaganda that we have ended terrorism in Kashmir, and this happened without incident. There is a public outcry that every drop of blood and tears shed in Kashmir should be avenged, that justice should be done to Pakistan. Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are giving the impression that the Pahalgam incident should not be politicised. Since the Pahalgam attack took place, they have started saying that the issue should not be politicised. If these groups had followed the path of not politicising a tragic incident in the last ten years, there would not have been time to make such pleas today. The Pahalgam attack is inhumane, brutal and it must be avenged, but what does it mean to avenge? asked the Shiv Sena(UBT).

“The country is facing a real threat from those who think that by voting for the BJP in the elections, making Modi the Prime Minister, and only by doing so, ‘revenge’ will be completed, and that the Pakistanis will hide in the pit. Revenge is to be taken from Pakistan and the terrorists. Will the revenge of Pahalgam be completed by challenging the Muslims of the country and attacking their mosques and madrasas? Some people are tempted to do so. The fight is against Pakistan, not against the patriotic Muslims who are Indian citizens,” said the editorial.

“After the Uri and Pulwama terror attacks, there were speeches, ‘we will take revenge, we will make amends’. There were knee-jerk reactions in Parliament and public meetings. As revenge for Uri, a ‘surgical strike’ was carried out on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. At that time, it was said that the backs of Pakistan and terrorists had been broken and the Pakistanis made amends, but that did not happen,” claimed the editorial.

The Shiv Sena(UBT) in the editorial recalled that Indira Gandhi in 1971 defeated Pakistan and divided it into two parts. Still, the tail of the Pakistanis remained crooked. What exactly is the PM Modi government going to do now? The government should take action, not merely do a campaign,” said the editorial targeting the BJP-led government at the Centre.

“PM Modi is shaken by the Pahalgam attack and returned after cutting short his visit to Saudi Arabia. Rahul Gandhi is returning after cancelling his US visit. It is usual for the government to call an all-party meeting after the ‘Pahalgam’ attack. What will a government that always suppresses the voice of the opposition and is not ready to discuss any issue in Parliament, from Kashmir to Manipur, do by calling an all-party meeting? The country’s Home Minister is not serious about national security, as he has failed to protect the lives of the people. Home Minister’s removal is an all-party demand. If the government is not going to consider that demand, then why is there any need for meetings? ” asked the Shiv Sena(UBT) in the editorial.

Upping the criticism against the BJP-led government at the Centre, the editorial said: “It has been a long time since Article 370 was abrogated, but the government will not answer what it achieved by removing the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir. The government has made huge cuts in the Army and reduced financial provisions for the Defence Department. This game is dangerous. It did not provide aircraft to the army units in Pulwama and left the safety of thousands of tourists in Pahalgam hanging in the wind. Now that the attack happened and the people are angry after innocent people were killed, the government is running around.”

New Delhi, April 25: The US government has slammed a prominent American media organisation for its coverage of the April 22 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, where 26 people were brutally killed.

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee sharply criticised The New York Times, accusing it of downplaying the gravity of the incident by using terms like “militants” and “gunmen” instead of “terrorists”.

In a post on X, the Committee rebuked the newspaper’s use of words, sharing an image of the original headline — “At Least 24 Tourists Gunned Down by Militants in Kashmir” — with the word “militants” struck out and replaced in bold red with “terrorists”.

“Hey, @nytimes we fixed it for you. This was a TERRORIST ATTACK plain and simple. Whether it’s India or Israel, when it comes to TERRORISM the NYT is removed from reality,” the US Committee wrote.

This, perhaps, unprecedented reaction comes in the wake of the brutal terror attack in J&K’s Pahalgam, where Hindus were singled out and shot dead. The attack was later claimed by ‘The Resistance Front’ — an offshoot of the banned Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Terrorists opened fire on a group of tourists in the Baisaran Valley, killing 26 and injuring several others. The casualties also included a Nepali tourist. Visuals from the scene have flooded various media, showing chaos and panic, with some of the attackers captured on video firing indiscriminately.

The New York Times, in its report, referred to the terrorists as “militants” and “gunmen”, noting that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “called the shooting, the worst against civilians in the region for years, a ‘terror attack’ and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice”. The framing of the attack as merely a “shooting” has drawn strong objections from several quarters of the US government.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump called Prime Minister Modi to express his condolences and offer full support in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

“President Trump strongly condemned the terror attack and expressed full support to India to bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous attack. India and the United States stand together in the fight against terror,” said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, in a post on X.

US Vice President JD Vance also called PM Modi, condemning the terror attack and reiterated solidarity with India in its fight against terrorism.