Stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui was one of five comedians arrested on Friday night in Indore for being part of a program in which alleged indecent comments were made about Hindu deities.
Police said the arrests were made following a complaint by Aklavya Laxman Singh Gaur of the Hind Rakshak group. He is the son of MLA and former Mayor of Indore, Malini Laxman Singh Gaur.
Faruqui and four others (police identified them as Edwin Anthony, Prakhar Vyas, Priyam Vyas and Nalin Yadav) were presented in court on Saturday and placed in preventive detention. One of them was reportedly slapped outside the court premises.
The incident comes days after communal clashes broke out in Indore, Ujjain, Mandsaur, following demonstrations organized by right-wing groups to spread donations for the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Police said the five men were registered under IPC sections 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any kind by insulting their religion or religious beliefs), 269 (illegal or negligent act that can spread infection from any disease). dangerous to life) and other relevant sections.
One case was registered at the Tukoganj Police Station.
Kamlesh Sharma, in charge of the police station, said: “The FIR was searched following the video evidence presented to us that found the content to be objectionable.”
Sharma said the video provided to police had one of the comedians making objectionable comments, but all five were hired for being part of the show.
In his complaint, Gaur also said that the show took place without prior permission. He said there was no social distancing because there were 100 people in a small room.
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