Stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui’s arrest in Indore for allegedly hurting religious sentiments has now triggered a massive movement on social media with ‘Speak Up for Munawar’ becoming one of the top trends on Twitter on Tuesday with netizens extending their support to him.
A district court in Indore sent Faruqui to judicial custody along with four others till January 13 for insulting Hindu religious beliefs during a New Year show in Indore. They were arrested on Friday.
A stand-up comedian from Junagadh in Gujarat, Munawar Faruqui was arrested for his performance at a cafe in the popular 56 Dukan locality of Indore. Others arrested besides him include Indore-based Prakhar Vyas, Priyam Vyas, Nalin Yadav, and event coordinator Edwin Anthony. The accused have been booked under IPC sections 188, 269, 34 and 295A.
Incidentally, in a viral video, Munawar can be seen apologizing for his comments.
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In the same clip, Munawar can be seen talking about the death threats that he and his family had received after his new year show.
The case was filed based on a complaint by Eklavya Gaur, convenor of the Hind Rakshak Sangathan and son of BJP MLA Malini Gaur.
“Munawar Faruqui is a serial offender. We got the information about a show of Faruqui in Indore. We reached there and saw that they were making fun of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. We also recorded a video. We stopped the show and asked people to leave the show. They did not take permission for the show. They also violated social distancing rules,” Gaur said while talking to the media.
Eklavya Gaur’s counsel Dinesh Pandey said, “The accused organised the show without permission and were passing rude comments on Hindu God and Goddesses. They were arrested on Friday and were presented before the court on Saturday. The court sent them to jail till January 13.”