Tried to halt Munawar Faruqui show: 50 BJP, BJYM activists detained

Hyderabad: Telangana Police arrested nearly 50 activists of BJP and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) for attempting to disrupt comedian Munawar Faruqui's show in the capital on Saturday evening, IANS reported.

The activists tried to barge inside the Shilpa Kala Vedika, the venue in Madhapur, despite the police cordon. They raised slogans and attempted to make disruptions which the police foiled.

Munawar's 'Dongri to Nowhere' show had gathered large crowds queuing up outside the auditorium. Police asked the organisers to start the show one hour earlier than the scheduled time.

The Cyberabad police had arranged tight security after BJP and other right-wing extremists issued threats. About 500 policemen were deployed around Shilpa Kala Vedika and were thoroughly frisking the ticket-holders.

Senior officials, including a Deputy Inspector General of Police and two Deputy Commissioners of Police, were supervising the security.

Police were keeping a tight vigil on the venue and adjoining busy roads to prevent untoward incidents.

Some BJP workers had claimed that they had purchased tickets online and that they would protest during the show. This has made police more vigilant about people with online tickets.

Earlier, police had detained BJP MLA T Raja Singh, who threatened to burn the venue down as well as beat Munawar down, adding that if anything wrong happened during the show, the TRS government would be responsible. He was detained on his way to Shilpa Kala Vedika on Friday.

Raja Singh alleged that Munawar hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus by making jokes about their gods.

Munawar earlier planned to perform in Hyderabad in January, but his show got cancelled due to a surge in Covid-19 cases. Later, Telangana minister K.T. Rama Rao gave him an open invite, and he announced his show on December 22, 2021.

The comedian had earlier planned to perform in Hyderabad in January, but the show had to be cancelled due to a surge in Covid-19 cases.