Vanika Sangtani was among the audience at the 10 pm show at The Habitat on Sunday night when it all unravelled. “Our friend Rajat Sood was recording his comedy special. His set is usually non-political, and extremely normal. It was a 10 pm show, and we were there around 9.45 pm,” she said.

Even as the audience was arriving, there was a small crowd gathering outside The Habitat, she recalls. “We could tell that they were not the regular audience. They were outside talking very aggressively. Soon, two or three of them entered the venue. They started speaking loudly with the ticket handler and female bouncer, Payal. They were using unparliamentary language, and asking for Kunal Kamra. The Habitat staff was trying to explain that Kamra’s show was pre-recorded, and kept repeating it,” Sangtani said.