Comedian Munawar Faruqui Denied Bail
A stand-up comedian, Munawar Faruqui, a resident of Junagadh in Gujarat and four others were arrested last week for passing indecent remarks against Hindu deities denied bail by Indore court.
A stand-up comedian, Munawar Faruqui, a resident of Junagadh in Gujarat and four others were arrested for allegedly passing indecent remarks against Hindu deities and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a show at Indore in Madhya Pradesh. Police said the comedy show was held at a cafe in 56 Dukan area in the city on 1st January 2021. In-charge of Tukoganj police station Kamlesh Sharma said that the complaint was filed by Eklavya Singh Gaur who is the son of local BJP MLA Malini Laxman Singh Gaur. Based on the complaint, the comedian Munawar Faruqui and four others were arrested.Eklavya Gaur and his associates had gone to the show as audience. During the show they objected to the comments and created a ruckus over it. They also forced the event to stop. Four other arrested persons were identified as Edwin Anthony, Prakhar Vyas, Priyam Vyas and Nalin Yadav.
Eklavya Gaur told reporters that social distancing was also not maintained and it was organised without the permission of the authorities. At least 100 spectators were sitting in a small hall of the cafe. After hearing arguments of both the sides, Additional District and Sessions court judge Yatindra Kumar Guru rejected the bail plea of Munawar Faruqui and Nalin Yadav. Anshuman Shrivastava, the lawyer for Munawar Faruqui and Nalin Yadav, said that the allegations levelled against his clients are "vague" in nature. He said the two were booked under political pressure. Opposing the bail plea, prosecution lawyer Vimal Mishra said both the accused had participated in the event for which no permission was taken from local administration amid the pandemic and that indecent remarks were made against Hindu deities at the event, which was "full of obscenity despite the presence of minor boys and girls among the audience."
