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Bajrang Dal warns Munawar Faruqui over conducting shows in Gujarat

Ahemdabad: The Barang Dal has warned comedian Munawar Faruqui over his upcoming tour in Gujarat. Munawar Faruqui who had made headlines after his arrest during a performance in Indore. The Bajrang Dal said they won’t allow the comedian to perform in Gujarat.

The threats and warnings against the comedian prevails uncertainity over the fate of the show. Amid threats Munawar made the announcement of the show starting on October 1. In a video tweet, Gujarat Bajrang Dal leader Jwalit Mehta said, “He attacks the Hindu religion with his work, he hurts Hindu religious sentiments with his comedy. But the Bajrang Dal is not tolerant towards these things.”

“Bajrang Dal knows tit for tat. We are asking you to cancel the show. And if you go ahead with this, be prepared to face the consequences financially, physically and mentally,” warned the Bajrang Dal leader.

Munawar Faruqui had announced his new show ‘Dongri to Nowhere’ and was to perform in Gujarat from October 1 to 3. In the start of 2021, Munawar Faruqui was arrested in Indore which accounted for a huge controversy.

The comedian had been arrested in January this year in Indore based on a complaint filed by the son of a Bharatiya Janata Party politician. The complainant alleged that the comedian was going to make objectionable statements about Hindu deities at his show. People at the club Faruqui where was scheduled to perform said that the police detained him before he had actually begun his show.

Four others – Nalin Yadav, Prakhar Vyas, Edwin Anthony and Priyam Vyas – were also arrested on similar charges. A day after that, Faruqui’s friend Sadaqat Khan, an engineer in Mumbai, was arrested for allegedly making abusive remarks about the complainant Eklavya Singh Gaur, who is the chief of Hindutva group Hind Rakshak Sangathan.

However on January 4, the Indore Police admitted that there was no visual evidence to show that Faruqui had insulted Hindu deities. Faruqui’s arrest triggered massive outrage. Diaspora organisations, Indian and international stand-up comics, filmmakers, artists, and writers called for the dropping of “trumped up” charges against Faruqui and five people arrested for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

Faruqui was granted interim relief by the Supreme Court February 5. On February 12, the Madhya Pradesh High Court granted bail to 

 

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