The Uttar Pradesh Police have obtained a production warrant for stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui in connection with a case lodged against him in April last year.
Officials say they have submitted the production warrant at Indore district jail, The Indian Express reported. However, authorities at the Indore jail, where Faruqui is currently lodged following his arrest for allegedly insulting Hindu deities, say they have not received the warrant yet.
The case against Munawar Faruqui was lodged at George Town police station on 19 April last year. According to the police, the complaint filed by lawyer Ashutosh Mishra alleged that he had found a video on social media in which Faruqui made insulting statements against Union Home Minister Amit Shah and spread communal disharmony. Mishra also claimed that he had hurt religious sentiments through remarks on Hindu deities.
The case was registered under IPC sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), and sections 65 and 66 of Information Technology Act.
The case was transferred from George Town police station to the Crime Branch about four months ago.
"On coming to know that Munawar Faruqui is lodged at Indore Jail, we moved a local court and obtained his production warrant. On 7 January, we served the production warrant at Indore jail and submitted another copy at a court in Indore," investigating officer Inspector Dhakeshwar Singh told The Indian Express. He said that Faruqui's statement hadn't been recorded as the police were unable to locate the comedian during the investigation since his address mentioned in the FIR was found to be incorrect.
Superintendent of Indore jail, Rajesh Kumar Bhangre, told the publication that they had not received the production warrant yet. He said that authorities would seek the court's opinion once the warrant was received, adding that Faruqui's custody would be handed over to the UP police if permission was granted by the court.
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