Cops confirm no evidence of Munawar Faruqui insulting Hindu gods; comics rally in support

After an eyewitness account and videos showed that the now arrested stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui did not make any derogatory comments at his Indore show, an inspector at Tukaganj Police station confirmed the same to The Indian Express.

Inspector Kamlesh Sharma said that they have no evidence against Faruqui and had booked him as an organizer. He added that the videos submitted to them were of another comedian making offensive remarks about Hindu deity Lord Ganesh.

On Saturday, Munawar Faruqui was arrested along with four others after Eklavya Singh Gaur, son of a BJP MLA, complained against him for alleged indecent remarks made against Hindu deities and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a show at Indore in Madhya Pradesh.

Also Read: What happened at Munawar Faruqui’s show? Check eyewitness account, videos

Gaur said he and his associates had gone to the show as audience, where the comedian made the remarks. They objected to his comments and created ruckus over it. They also forced the event to stop.

Fellow comedians stand in support

Meanwhile, support has been pouring in for Faruqui on social media. Several comics and celebrities have come out in support of Faruqui.

Writer and comedian Varun Grover shared his statement of support via Instagram saying, “A fellow Indian, a fellow comedian is in jail and got beaten up by a mob because of the words he uttered. Here he’s trying to logically, calmly present his case but our systems now just want to brutally silence every voice.”

Sacred Games actress Kubbra Sait has expressed solidarity with Faruqui alleging the government of being too insensitive.

Actor and comedian Vir Das has also extended his support to Faruqui via Twitter. He said that jokes and laughter cannot be stopped. He also shared a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tweet about the importance of humor and satire.

Comedian Agrima Joshua called out Eklavya Singh Gaur, the man behind Faruqui’s alleged assault and later his arrest. She called the BJP MLA’s son ‘a spoilt brat’.

Other comedians who expressed their support for Faruqui on social media include Rohan Joshi, Kaneez Surka, Abish Mathew, and Sumukhi Suresh.

Faruqui is still under judicial remand along with four others, Edvin Anthony, Prakhar Vyas, Priyam Vyas, and Nalin Yadav.