Ever since reports have emerged that a police complaint has been filed against comedian Shyam Rangeela for his latest video, in which he is seen mimicking PM Narendra Modi and speaking about how the petrol prices hike have never been this high in the state, many people have expressed their vexation, accusing the government of stifling voices of dissent.
However, contrary to the belief, the complaint against the popular comedian Shyam Rangeela has not been filed by the government or even by a member of BJP. The complaint was filed by the owner of the petrol pump located on Hanumangarh Road in Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, where the former had shot the video.
Suresh Agarwal, the owner of the petrol pump, had approached the Sadar police with a complaint against the comedian accusing him of cheating. He alleged that Shyam Rangeela lied to him about his profession while seeking permission for shooting his video.
Agarwal said in his complaint that Shyam Rangeela had introduced himself as a journalist and said that he wanted to take pictures of the petrol pump to which Agarwal had agreed. On February 17 at around 5:30-6:00 pm in the evening, a few people came to the petrol pump. Since those were the rush hours at the petrol pump, the employees at the station did not pay much attention, said Agarwal, furthering that Shyam Rangeela and his team then shot the video without informing the staff.
According to a report by Hindi daily Jagran, Suresh Agarwal approached the police with the complaint after he was pressurised by the private petroleum company on whose dealership Agarwal was running his petrol station. If reports are to be believed, the private oil company had threatened the owner of cancelling his dealership if he did not lodge a complaint against the comedian.
Following the complaint, the comedian posted another video on Twitter where he explains the entire fiasco and narrates the before and after conversations he had with the petrol pump owner.
मैंने विडीओ क्यों और किस प्रकार बनाया और बाद में क्या हुआ यह मैं इस विडीओ के माध्यम से आप तक पहुँचा रहा हूँ.
— Shyam Rangeela (@ShyamRangeela) February 20, 2021
आगे का विडीओ – https://t.co/iAMuBd0u3V #shyamrangeela #petrolprice Thanks for #WeSupportshyamrangeela pic.twitter.com/mNStK9PEOr
Meanwhile, speaking on the complaint filed against him, Shyam Rangeela expressed shock as he questioned what in the video irked the petroleum company so much that they threatened the petrol pump owner to take action against him.
कम्पनी को ऐसी क्या तकलीफ़ हो गयी जो संचालक को तेल नहीं भेज रही है?
— Shyam Rangeela (@ShyamRangeela) February 20, 2021
मैंने ऐसा क्या बोला है जिस से कम्पनी की भावना को ठेस पहुँची है ?
ऐसी कोनसी मजबूरी है जो उनको माफ़ी नहीं कार्यवाही चाहिए?
चलिए कर लीजिए कार्यवाही 🙏🏽
#ShyamRangeela pic.twitter.com/FEku7TqJw2
He wrote that if they are still not convinced with his explanations and wanted to take action against him, he is ready to face the consequences.