2020 Prayagraj Case: UP Police obtains manufacturing warrant for Munawar Faruqui

Uttar Pradesh Police have obtained a manufacturing warrant for slapstick comedian Munawar Faruqui in reference to a case lodged towards him at Prayagraj in April final yr.
Officials of Uttar Pradesh Police mentioned they’ve submitted the manufacturing warrant at Indore district jail, the place Munawar is at present lodged after being arrested for alleged objectionable remarks towards Hindu deities. The Indore jail superintendent, nonetheless, mentioned they haven’t acquired the warrant but.

The case towards Munawar in Prayagraj was lodged at George Town police station on April 19 final yr after a grievance by native lawyer Ashutosh Mishra.
The complainant had alleged that he had discovered a video on social media during which Munawar made insulting statements towards Union Home Minister Amit Shah and tried to create hatred between communities, mentioned police. He additionally alleged that Munawar harm spiritual sentiments by means of remarks on Hindu gods and goddesses in one other video, mentioned police.
The case was lodged below IPC sections 153-A (selling enmity between completely different teams on grounds of faith, race, homeland, residence, language, and so forth., and doing acts prejudicial to upkeep of concord), 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, supposed to outrage spiritual emotions of any class by insulting its faith or spiritual beliefs), and sections 65 and 66 of Information Technology Act.

About 4 months again, SSP, Prayagraj, transferred the investigation into the case from George Town police station to the Crime Branch.
“On coming to know that Munawar Faruqui is lodged at Indore Jail, we moved a local court and obtained his production warrant. On January 7, we served the production warrant at Indore jail and submitted another copy at a court in Indore,” mentioned investigating officer Inspector Dhakeshwar Singh.
He mentioned that police tried to find Munawar in the course of the investigation, however failed to succeed in him. The FIR didn’t have a lot data, he mentioned, including that it didn’t have the identify of Munawar’s father and the comic’s deal with talked about in it was discovered to be incorrect.
“The majority part of the investigation has been completed, including recording the statements of witnesses. The statement of Munawar could not be recorded,” mentioned Singh.
Superintendent of Indore jail, Rajesh Kumar Bhangre, mentioned they had been but to obtain any communication with regard to the manufacturing warrant. “We will seek the court’s opinion in case we receive the warrant. Once the court grants permission, Munawar’s custody will be handed over to UP police.”

Anshuman Shirvastav, who’s representing Munawar within the Madhya Pradesh High Court, mentioned, “We will move for anticipatory bail once we have details of the warrant and the case.”
If the anticipatory bail plea is rejected, Munawar will likely be handed over to UP police after securing his bail from MP.
 With ENS, Bhopal