Standup comedian Anudeep Katikala was detained by Andhra Pradesh police on April 14 in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, following an FIR filed over jokes referencing actor-politician and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and members of his family. The complaint was lodged by a Jana Sena Party, East Godavari Joint Secretary, Bade Venkata Krishna at the Kakinada police station. He alleged that Katikala’s remarks in a YouTube video were derogatory and damaging to Kalyan and his family’s reputation.

The video, titled The Tollywood Roast Show, was uploaded earlier this month on the comedian’s YouTube channel in which he pokes fun at Kalyan and actor Ram Charan, son of actor Chiranjeevi, who is also Kalyan’s older brother. Fans were outraged and issued threats against the comedian.

Katikala has been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including provisions related to defamation, promoting enmity and insulting the modesty of a woman, along with Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, which prohibits publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form.

“He had already issued a public apology after his jokes began to draw abuse from fans of Pawan Kalyan on YouTube,” the comedian’s family member told The Print.

Katikala is an IIT Bombay graduate and founder of the Hyderabad-based club Silly South Comedy.