interview2019 
India cannot seem to leave behind crimes and violence against women as stand-up comedian Agrima Joshua has been receiving rape and death threats of an old video of hers, dated April 2019, where she allegedly jokes about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Joshua in her performance said that a user on Quora had written that the Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue will have GPS tracker and will shoot laser rays out of its eyes to kill Pakistani terrorists in the Arabian Sea.
Now, the video has gained infamy and was shared widely in social media with people accusing her of disrespecting Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Annoyed social media users shared the location of the café while members of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) allegedly barged into the café on Saturday and vandalised the property.
Agrima Joshua uploaded an apology video on her Twitter handle where she apologized for hurting any religious sentiments. Meanwhile, Shubham Mishra posted a video where he hurled violent abuses against Joshua, her mother and her sister. He specifically mentioned “rape her from behind” and ended the video justifying that he respects women.
The issue was taken up by several celebrities like Mallika Dua, Kunal Kamra and Swara Bhaskara who requested Mumbai and Gujarat Police as well as the National Commission for women to take action against such distasteful and profanity-laden clip.
Under social media pressure and multiple online complaints, the Vadodara police on Sunday evening has taken a suo moto action in the matter and detained Shubham Mishra under section IPC and IT Act.
Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh tweeted that he has instructed Mumbai commissioner of police to take legal action against Joshua after being approached by shiv-sena.
For a joke that seems to be against a government policy rather than something that disrespects one’s religion, a comedian has been a victim of sexual abuse as well as political agenda.
As quoted by Agrima Joshua,” There is no pro-government comedian because the very essence to comedy speaking truth to power. When you side with the status quo and use the platform to protect it, it’s not joking, it’s jee hazori.”
Article Written By Ompriya Sahoo
Image Source: Google
