2020 tweets: Actor-producer Kamaal R Khan arrested upon arrival from Dubai

Bollywood actor-producer Mohammed Rashid Mohammed Iqbal Kamaal, also known as Kamaal R Khan, was arrested after he landed at the city airport from Dubai a little past midnight on Monday in connection with an FIR registered over his controversial tweets in 2020

Bollywood actor-producer Mohammed Rashid Mohammed Iqbal Kamaal, also known as Kamaal R Khan, was arrested after he landed at the city airport from Dubai a little past midnight on Monday in connection with an FIR registered over his controversial tweets in 2020.

Actor Kamaal R Khan being taken to a Borivali court on Tuesday Vijay Bate/HT Photo

Social activist Rahul Kanal had lodged a complaint with the Malad police taking objection to two of Khan’s tweets - the first was about Akshay Kumar-starrer Laxmii and the second on the lifestyle of film producer, director and screenwriter Ram Gopal Varma. Kanal had claimed that Khan had deliberately posted the comments with an intention to create communal tension and disturb public tranquillity.

The police had on October 19, 2020 booked Khan under sections 153(A) (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 294 (obscene acts and songs), 500 (defamation), 501 (printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory), and 505 (statement conducive to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 67 (publishing obscene information in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act.

Since Khan was residing in Dubai at the time, the police had requested the immigration department to issue a look out circular. “By the time we tried to contact him in 2020 he had left for Dubai. We then issued a look out notice for him,” Vishal Thakur, deputy commissioner of police, zone 11, said.

On Monday night, when he arrived at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, the wing in-charge of the Foreigner’s Regional Registration Office alerted the Malad police. He was formally placed under arrest at 12.22 am on Tuesday.

He was produced before a metropolitan magistrate court at Borivali. The police sought his seven-day custody, claiming that the 54-year-old had incited communal tension by posting controversial comments on social media.

In their remand application, the police also claimed that Khan had tried to extort money from people associated with film production by threatening to write negative reviews.

The court, however, sent Khan to 14 days in judicial custody.

The actor then filed for bail, claiming that he was a film critic and the comments posted by him were not intended to promote enmity between communities or incite violence. The hearing on his bail plea is scheduled for September 2.

Later, he was taken to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital after he complained of chest pain.

Khan has acted in one film in his career named Deshdrohi, which was produced by him. The Bigg Boss participant has around five million followers on Twitter and one million on YouTube.

In May 2020, activist Kanal had also filed a complaint against Khan and the Bandra police had registered an FIR under sections 294, 500, 501 and 505 of the IPC for posting derogatory comments on late actor Rishi Kapoor while he was being treated at a hospital. Khan had also allegedly posted abusive tweets on late actor Irfan Khan while he was hospitalised for a disease.