Three more cases have been filed against stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra in Maharashtra for his satirical remarks ostensibly about Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, The Indian Express reported on Saturday.

The first information reports were filed by workers of the Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena in different parts of the state.

The three FIRs were transferred on Friday to the Khar police station in Mumbai, which is already investigating another defamation case filed against Kamra, the newspaper quoted an unidentified police officer as saying.

On March 23, Kamra posted a video on his YouTube channel in which he ostensibly criticised Shinde while performing a satirical version of a song from a Hindi film.

The comedian alluded to Shinde as a “traitor” while referring to his 2022 rebellion against former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the ensuing political crisis in Maharashtra. He, however, did not mention Shinde by name.

After clips of the performance were widely shared on social media, members of the Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena on the night of March 23 vandalised The Habitat Studio in Mumbai’s Khar area, where it was recorded.

The next day, the Mumbai Police filed a case against Kamra under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to defamation and public mischief. The police also sent the comedian two summonses, asking him to appear for questioning before March 31.

Kamra sought seven days to travel to Mumbai but the city police denied his request.

The three additional FIRs were based on the complaints filed by Mayur Borse from Manmad and Sunil Jadhav from Nandgaon in Nashik district, and Sanjay Bhujbal from Jalgaon Jamod in Buldhana district, according to The Indian Express.

In their complaints, the Shinde Sena workers claimed that Kamra “defamed the moral conduct” of the deputy chief minister. “He also created hatred between the two political parties by making derogatory statements,” the newspaper quoted the complaints as having stated.

The Madras High Court on Friday granted Kamra interim anticipatory bail till April 7 in the first defamation case filed at the Khar police station.

Justice Sunder Mohan said he was satisfied at a preliminary level that Kamra would not be able to approach courts in Maharashtra for anticipatory bail.

The comedian said in his petition that the Madras High Court had the jurisdiction to hear his anticipatory bail petition as he is a permanent resident of Villupuram town in Tamil Nadu.

Also read: How the Mumbai club under attack for Kamra’s show gave stand-up comics a stage – and street cred