Days after Mumbai comedian Munawar Faruqui and four others were arrested after a complaint by Eklavya Gaur, son of Indore-4 BJP MLA Malini Gaur, alleged that he “insulted the religious sentiments of Hindus,” police have said. that there is no video evidence showing him making such comments.
“There is no evidence against him for insulting Hindu deities or Union Minister Amit Shah,” said Indore Town (Tukaganj police station) inspector Kamlesh Sharma. The Indian Express, adding that Faruqui has been booked as an organizer.
Indore police arrested Faruqui and his four associates based on Gaur’s accusations on Friday. “He is a serial offender and often makes defamatory jokes about Hindu gods and goddesses,” Gaur told media outside the police station on the day of the comedian’s arrest. “When I heard about the Munawar show, I bought a ticket and went to see it. As expected, he was insulting Hindu deities and also mocked Interior Minister Amit Shah, dragging his name with the Godhra riots, “he added.
Faruqui and his associates Edvin Anthony, Prakhar Vyas, Priyam Vyas and Nalin Yadav have been registered under Sections 295-A of the IPC (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious sentiments of any kind by insulting their religion or religious beliefs), 298 (uttering, words, etc., with the deliberate intention of hurting the religious feelings of any person), 269 (Whoever, illegally or negligently, performs an act that is, and who knows or has reason to believe, may spread the infection of a life-threatening disease), 188 (Disobedience to an order duly promulgated by the public servant) and 34 (Acts performed by several people in compliance with the common intention).
Meanwhile, a disturbing video went viral in which Faruqui is seen on stage, explaining himself and his content. In the footage, he can be seen referring to his old videos where he joked about Islam and that its content was never intended to provoke Hindu feelings. Gaur can also be seen on stage, though he later stormed off.
Celebrity comedians, including Varun Grover, Vir Das, Kaneez Surkha, Agrima Joshua, Rahul Subramaniam, and Rohan Joshi, supported Faruqui.
On Sunday, a woman claiming to be part of the audience on the day of her arrest, Jenosha Agnes, recalled the event on Instagram, explaining how “few people with political connections rushed to the stage and snatched the microphone from her.” “When Munawar arrived on stage, few people with political connections rushed up on stage, took the microphone and started saying ‘Hamare religious feelings hurt hue hai … Godhra kand per joke kiya … Hamare devi devta ka mazak udaya … Islam pe joke q nahi karta hai “.
“Munawar politely clarified that he never intended to hurt anyone. He handled the situation very well and they backed off, ”he said. A few minutes later, a crowd entered the room and the organizers withdrew. Then the police arrived and arrested Faruqui and others. “Munawar Faruqui did not make derogatory comments on the Indore show,” he said.
Meanwhile, Faruqui’s lawyer, Asad Warsi, said the legal team will request bail on Monday. “We are claiming that there is no such evidence of offenses against any of them.”
.
