A second FIR has been registered against comedian Pranit More and audience member Himanshu Jangra over the controversial Rs 370 Biryani remark. The fresh case was lodged at Gurugram’s DLF Phase-2 Police Station following a complaint received by the National Commission for Women (NCW), which had sought an action-taken report within seven days.
The latest FIR comes days after Maharashtra Cyber Police registered a criminal case on June 11, the NCW took suo motu cognisance of the matter and issued summons, and both More and Jangra apologised publicly for their remarks.
Gurugram Police File FIR Against Pranit, Himanshu
The case has been registered under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act and Sections 294, 353(3), 75(2), and 75(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). These are charges related to publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form, circulation of objectionable digital content, making statements conducive to public mischief, and sexual harassment through sexually coloured remarks.
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“Legal notices have been issued to them to join the investigation, and further legal action will be taken in accordance with the law,” a Gurugram Police spokesperson was quoted by The Indian Express as saying.
“Under the directives of the Commissioner of Police, the matter is being thoroughly investigated. Any activity violating the dignity and honour of women will not be tolerated and will face strict legal enforcement,” police officials added.
Pranit And Himanshu Apologise
Following the controversy, both Pranit More and Himanshu Jangra have issued public apologies.
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In a video shared on Instagram on June 14, Jangra claimed that parts of the dating story he narrated during the comedy show had been improvised for entertainment purposes.
“Maine jo waha pe story batayi, usmein jo ladki ki baat kar raha hoon main... haan maine ek ladki ko date kiya tha... but sir jo maine waha pe bataya woh totally true nahi tha. Wo ek improvise karke story batayi thi maine waha par [The story I told there, the girl I was talking about... yes, I did date a girl. But sir, what I said there was not completely true. I had improvised that story and told it there.]”
He further said, “Mai maanta hoon ki maine kuch galat words use kiye the. Mai is ke liye sorry maangna chahunga. Wo maine jo bataya tha wo sirf ek entertainment way me bataya tha. Mera koi bhi aisa intention ya mentality nahi hai [I admit that I used some inappropriate words. I would like to apologise for that. What I said was presented only for entertainment purposes. I did not have any such intention or mindset.]”
Jangra also lost his job following the controversy, with his employer, Stravik Design, announcing the decision in a video statement shared online.
Earlier, More had also issued a second public apology over the incident. In a video shared on Instagram on June 13, the comedian admitted that he should have intervened during the interaction.
“I think I deserve this hate because when I was doing crowd work with that guy he said a lot of derogatory things, but everyone was laughing at him so I got carried away,” he said.
What Is The Rs 370 Biryani Row?
It all started with a video from a comedy show in Gurugram that went viral on social media.
In the video, Jangra recounted a date during which he spent Rs 370 on a plate of chicken biryani. He claimed that when the woman later asked him to drop her home, he sought sexual favours in return for the amount he had spent on the date.