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

What's the claim?

A video featuring Indian stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui has circulated online, with claims that he has issued an apology to Lawrence Bishnoi's gang.

On October 12, 2024, Baba Siddique, a senior 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 surfaced indicating that Faruqui and Indian actor Salman Khan were also targets of the gang. Bishnoi reportedly expressed anger towards Faruqui over alleged offensive remarks about Hindu deities, prompting increased security measures for the comedian and his family.

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

In the video, Faruqui addresses his audience in Hindi, stating (translated): "Hi friends, I want to clarify something. There was a show where I engaged in crowd work, and during that interaction, I mentioned Konkani. I have many friends from that community, but it seems my words were taken out of context. I never intended to insult anyone. As a stand-up comedian, my job is to make people laugh, not to hurt them. I sincerely apologize to anyone who felt offended. There were people of various backgrounds in the audience, and I truly regret any misunderstanding. Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra."

While Faruqui does not mention Bishnoi's gang in the video, it was shared online with captions like: "Even though Salman Khan has refused to apologize, Faruqui has apologized. That too with folded hands. #BishnoiGang." Archived versions of these posts can be found here, here, here, and here.

The narrative also circulated on Facebook, with archives available here, here, and 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 search of keyframes from 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 arose during a crowd work 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 the 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 unrelated to recent developments involving the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Additionally, it is noteworthy that he does not mention Bishnoi's gang at all in the video.

News reports from August 2024 indicate that Faruqui was addressing backlash over a joke he made about the Konkani community. According to News18, he apologized during a performance in Taloja after a video clip surfaced showing him making a derogatory remark about Konkanis. In that clip, he stated in Hindi (translated), "Konkanis fool others." India Today reported that this comment sparked outrage and widespread criticism on social media.

Furthermore, while there have been suggestions that Faruqui could be a target of gangster Bishnoi, there is no credible evidence that he apologized to the gang.

The verdict

The video of Munawar Faruqui apologizing has been misrepresented as an apology to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. In reality, it is an old video from August 2024, addressing the controversy surrounding his comments about the Konkani community.