Comedy Nights actor arrested for mimicking Dera Saccha Sauda head

The Haryana Police on Tuesday night arrested comedian Kiku Sharda from Mumbai following a complaint that he mimicked Dera Saccha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and hurt religious sentiments.

Sharda was produced before a local court in Haryana on Wednesday and sent to 14-day judicial custody. He is best known for playing Palak on the popular TV show Comedy Nights with Kapil.

According to the police, deputy commissioner of police (Zone XII) M Ramkumar, Sharda was arrested after a team of the Haryana police arrived in Mumbai with the complaint against him on Tuesday.

"Sharda was shooting for some show late on Tuesday when the Haryana police team approached the Aarey police to intimate about the case. After the shooting got over, Sharda was arrested," Ramkumar said.

On January 1, a complaint was filed against Sharda for imitating Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on his TV show, which aired on December 27. Sharda was booked under section 295 A of the Indian Penal Code for outraging religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious belief.

On December 28, Sharda had apologised to Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and his follower by tweeting "the act on TV was not to hurt anyone's feelings."

Kapil Sharma on Wednesday tweeted, requesting Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to back the actor (Sharda) and set "an example of humanity".