Mumbai: Munawar Faruqui Detained During Raid At Hookah Bar, Released Later (image@munawar0018)

Munawar Faruqui, the Big Boss 17 title winner, was detained during a raid at a hookah parlour in Mumbai, said police. The stand-up comic and singer was later released. As per the police, the hookah parlour in Mumbai city’s Fort area was being run illegally and Rs 4,400 in cash and nine hookah pots worth Rs 13,500 were captured during the raid.

Case has been registered under the section of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act. A senior police officer told PTI that the police have video footages of Faruqui and others smoking hookahs. They were detained and later let go as the “sections slapped against them were bailable”.

Munawar Faruqui and others were served notices and allowed to leave. The 32-year-old Faruqi became popular as a stand-up comedian and rapper on YouTube. He grabbed headlines for the first time in 2021, when he spent a month in jail following complaints filed against him for hurting religious sentiments. He had spent 37 days in jail for jokes he didn’t crack. The case was filed following a complaint filed by Eklavya Singh Gaur, chief of Hindutva group Hind Rakshak Sangathan. The complainant claimed that he overheard comedian’s ‘hurtful’ jokes during the rehearsal.

After 12 of his shows were cancelled due to threats from right-wing group, he announced that he would quit his show. He then made a comeback in TV reality show, Lock Upp, in which particpants lived in ‘jail’ and performed tasks to earn money as ‘inmates’. He won the first season of the show.

In October last year, Faruqui again grabbed headlines after bagging the Big Boss 17 title.  He is currently a celebrated entertainment figure loved and admired in the country.