Stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui has had his show cancelled in Bangalore at the eleventh hour for the second time against the backdrop of objections raised by a Sangh parivar outfit.

Bangalore police cancelled the show, which was to have been held on Friday, on the ground that the organisers had not taken permission.

Karnataka has a BJP government and has of late emerged as a testing ground of sorts for communal campaigns.

Although the Jai Shri Ram Sena Sanghatana had lodged a complaint with the police claiming that Faruqui’s signature show Dongri to Nowhere would hurt religious sentiments, the law-enforcers clarified that the event was cancelled because clearance had not been sought for the programme that was supposed to be held at a convention hall in J.P. Nagar.

The Sanghatana was one of the two groups, the other being the Hindu Janajagruti Samithi, that had come in the way of another Faruqui show in Bangalore in November 2021. The police had then too denied permission against the backdrop of complaints from the two outfits.

Deputy commissioner of police, south division, P. Krishnakant, told reporters on Saturday that Friday’s event had been announced without permission. “It was cancelled since the event had no police permission,” he said.

Mohan Gowda of the Hindu Janajagruti Samithi who is also associated with the Jai Shri Ram Sena Sanghatana, accused Faruqui of “insulting Hindu gods and goddesses”. He recalled that Faruqui had been arrested in January 2021 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, and sought a permanent ban on him.

“Munawar Faruiqui has been hurting Hindu religious sentiments through the medium of his comedy shows,” Gowda said. Referring to his arrest, Gowda said: “But even then he continues to insult Hindu gods and goddesses. So there should be a permanent ban on his comedy shows.”

50 detained

Around 50 people were taken into preventive custody when they reached the venue of a show by Faruqui in Hyderabad on Saturday evening but the event otherwise went off peacefully, PTI reported. Amid a call by BJP MLA T. Raja Singh to cancel the show, the police ensured tight security at the venue.

Condom probe

Morena: Doctors at Morena district hospital in Madhya Pradesh found a condom wrapper after removing the bandage on the wound of a woman, an official said on Saturday.

The wrapper was allegedly placed on the wound, on the head of the 70-year-old, in a primary health centre in Porsa, the official added. An inquiry has been ordered.

PTI