Old clip of comedian Munawar Faruqui shared as his ‘apology to Lawrence Bishnoi’

This video is from August 2024, when Faruqui apologized for his comments about India’s Konkani community. It has no relation to Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang.

What is the claim?

A video of Indian stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui has circulated online, with claims that he apologized to Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang.

On October 12, 2024, Baba Siddiquea prominent leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), was shot dead outside his son Zeeshan’s office in Bandra, Mumbai. The Lawrence Bishnoi gang, linked to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi – who has been incarcerated since 2015 on multiple criminal charges –claimed responsibility for the murder.

Following this incident, reports emerged indicating that Faruqui and Indian actor Salman Khan were also targeted by the gang. Bishnoi supposedly expressed anger at Faruqui for alleged offensive comments about Hindu deities, which led to increased security measures for the comedian and his family.

Amid this situation, a video of Faruqui apologizing went viral, with many claiming it was aimed at Bishnoi’s gang after his name appeared on the hit list.

In the video, Faruqui addresses the audience in Hindi, stating (translated): “Hello friends, I want to clarify something. There was a show where I did crowdwork and during that interaction I mentioned Konkani. from that community, but it seems like my words were taken out of context. I never intended to insult anyone, my job is to make people laugh, not hurt them. There were people from diverse backgrounds in the audience and I truly regret any misunderstandings.

Although Faruqui does not mention the Bishnoi gang in the video, it was shared online with captions like, “Even though Salman Khan refused to apologize, Faruqui apologized. That too with folded hands. #BishnoiGang.” Archived versions of these posts can be found here, here, hereand here.

The narrative also circulated on Facebook, with an archive available here, hereand here.

Screenshot of viral posts circulating on social media. (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, our investigation reveals that this video dates back to August 2024, when Faruqui addressed a controversy regarding his comments about the Konkani community.

What did we find?

A reverse keyframe search of the viral video revealed that Faruqui posted it on his official X account (archived here) on August 12, 2024. In the caption, he wrote in Marathi (translated): “Much love and my apologies to Konkan.”

In the video, he explained that his joke came during a crowdwork segment and clarified that his words were taken out of context. He expressed sincere apologies to anyone offended, acknowledging that some audience members were hurt by his comments and regretting any misunderstanding.

Screenshot of video posted by Munawar Faruqui on X in August 2024. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

This evidence confirms that Faruqui’s apology video is old and has no relation to the recent events involving the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Also, it is worth noting that he does not mention the Bishnoi gang in the video.

Reports from August 2024 indicate that Faruqui was addressing the backlash over a joke he made about the Konkani community. According to News18he apologized during a performance in Taloja after a video clip surfaced showing him making a derogatory comment about Konkanis. In this clip, he stated in Hindi (translated): “Konkanis deceive others.” India today reported that this comment generated widespread outrage and criticism on social media.

Furthermore, although there have been suggestions that Faruqui could be targeted by the Bishnoi gangster, there is no credible evidence that he has apologized to the gang.

The verdict

The video of Munawar Faruqui apologizing was misconstrued as an apology to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. It is actually an old video from August 2024, addressing the controversy surrounding his comments about the Konkani community.

(This report first appeared on logicalfacts.com and was republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Other than the headline, no changes were made to the ABP Live report.)