New Delhi: On 25 August 2025, former stand-up comedian Nalin Yadav, 29, was allegedly attacked around midnight while walking his dog, Cherry, outside his home in Pithampur, about 25 km south of Indore in Madhya Pradesh.
A speeding motorcycle struck him, Yadav told Article 14. Soon, more men arrived on bikes, and a group of six to seven people then pelted stones and hurled abuses at him, he said, adding that he and his brother were “brutally beaten”.
According to Yadav who was arrested in 2021 alongside comedian Munawar Faruqui following a disrupted comedy show in Indore, he and his brother caught one of their assailants and handed him over to the police. A non-cognisable (NC) offence was registered.
This was the fourth attack on Yadav since he stumbled into the limelight in 2021.
Article 14 sought comment from the Pithampur police station, district magistrate Priyank Mishra, subdivisional magistrate Rahul Gupta, city superintendent of police (Pithampur) Ravi Soner, and the Sector 1 police station in Pithampur through phone calls and messages. Despite multiple attempts, they remain unavailable.
Once an emerging stand-up comic, the wearyYadav now finds himself navigating a relentless cycle of court appearances, police summons and financial precarity. “In India today, justice is reserved only for the rich,” he said bitterly.
Earlier, on 16 March 2025, he had woken up to a burning tyre left on the terrace of his home, allegedly placed by neighbours linked to a local politician. When he and his brother confronted them, they were attacked by a mob of nearly 40 men.
The attack was allegedly related to a dispute over his property. “They want me to leave my own home,” he said, his voice flat from exhaustion, speaking in measured tones. His family home was his only remaining asset, he added.
Multiple police complaints he filed yielded little protection, Yadav said. Instead, he faces counter-FIRs, the political affiliations of his attackers exacerbating his vulnerability.
Yadav said the men were connected to a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator, though the politician’s current party affiliation is unclear.
In response to Yadav’s allegations, Madhya Pradesh’s BJP spokesperson Alok Dubey told the Press Trust of India on 28 May 2024 that the comedian was “carrying out a (sic) false propaganda” to gain “cheap publicity through social media”.
Yadav’s troubles actually began in January 2021, when he was arrested alongside comedian Munawar Faruqui following a disrupted comedy show in Indore—a case that catapulted both into the national spotlight, igniting a continuing debate around freedom of expression.
Organised by Yadav, the 1 January 2021 show had been disrupted by a mob led by Eklavya Singh Gaur, son of BJP MLA Malini Laxman Singh Gaur of Indore.
After Faruqui was accused of making objectionable remarks about Hindu deities, Yadav, Faruqui, and three others including a 17-year-old, were charged under sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 295 A (deliberate act to outrage religious feelings) and 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life, applied because the Covid-19 pandemic-related rules were in place at the time).
Yadav, who did not perform that day, spent 57 days in jail, 20 days more than Faruqui, before being granted interim bail by the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on 26 February 2021.
Since then, he has faced social ostracism, job losses, and repeated assaults, including an alleged attack on 24 March 2024, and another incident in November 2023 involving two men linked to the current dispute.
“If you're broke and have no financial support, never seek justice, because you will lose everything in the process,” Yadav told Article 14 in the course of a free-wheeling interview in which he reflected on the personal cost of becoming a political target, the collapse of his career, and the emotional toll of the past four years.
Can you describe this latest attack on the night of 25 August 2025?
It was around midnight, and I was walking my dog, Cherry, who’s sick and had a surgery scheduled the next day.
The street in our colony is pretty wide, it’s not a narrow lane. Yet a speeding motorcycle came at us, aiming for Cherry. I pushed her aside, but it hit me instead.
When I argued with the rider, two more people arrived on another bike, making it four against one. I was alone, my brother wasn’t home, so I moved inside my house with Cherry. Within half an hour, a mob of six or seven people, led by a woman, gathered outside, hurling abuses and pelting stones.
Scared, I locked the door and started calling my friends and the police control room.
After a while, my brother showed up in the street, and they attacked him. I ran out to help, but the mob turned on me, beating me brutally and leaving me with a fractured finger.
My friends arrived soon after, and we caught one attacker, holding him for over an hour while waiting for the police. He said he was from Akolia, a nearby village, and was connected to politicians who have been harassing me for years now.
When the police finally arrived, they took us to the police station. There, one officer asked why I haven’t heeded their advice to leave this place. They filed only a non-cognizable report, refused to conduct an X-ray for my injuries, and left the attacker’s name out of the report despite us handing him over.
I’ve tried filing an FIR, but they haven’t registered it, despite multiple requests. It has left me shaken, living in a place where these powerful politicians seem untouchable.
What happened on 16 March 2025, and how did it all go down?
That morning, I woke up to find a tyre burning on my terrace, a clear scare tactic by some neighbours who’ve been trying to force me out of my house. When I went to confront them, things escalated. A group of men, reportedly linked to a local politician, turned violent and attacked me and my brother.
I rushed to Sector 1 police station in Pithampur to seek help, but the officers dismissed me and told me to dial 100. When I called the helpline, they redirected me back to the same police station.
Meanwhile, nearly 50 people had gathered outside my house. With no police presence, I went live on Instagram out of fear for my safety.
It took nearly two hours for the police to arrive. When they finally did, they agreed to file my complaint, but only if I stopped the live video. I did file the FIR, but I’ve been through this before, and honestly, I don’t expect much. I later deleted the live from my profile because watching myself cry was too painful—but I’ve saved it in my archives as evidence.
Despite having the Instagram Live as proof, showing a mob attacking my brother and me, throwing burning tyres on my roof, I was shown as an accused in the FIR pertaining to the 16 March 2025 incident. Each time, the police either refuse to register a proper FIR or suggest that I leave my home and whenever I manage to file an FIR, these people file counter-FIRs to avoid any action..
How did this all start with the 2021 incident, and what has life been like since?
I didn’t crack a single joke that night (1 January 2021). I was just the organiser, standing beside Munawar to support the artist I had invited. That was my only fault.
If I didn’t stand with him, would any artist come to perform in the future? They arrested three people along with me and Munawar—one was a 17-year-old boy, my friend’s brother, who had just come to watch the show. They kept him in central jail.
It’s been more than three years since my release from jail in the Munawar Faruqui case, but situations aren’t the same for everyone. Before the controversy, I lived peacefully.
After it, I was branded anti-Hindu, anti-establishment, someone who doesn’t deserve to live here. They offered me Rs 10 lakh to leave, but I refused. This house was worth Rs 40 lakh at that time, it’s all my parents left for me. If I give this up, I have nothing.
The people around my house are linked to a former BJP councillor who keeps switching parties. Since he is no longer in office, I don’t know which party he belongs to now. Around 30 to 40 of his associates live nearby, and except for mine, all the houses here are under his control.
Who do you believe is behind these incidents, and why are they targeting you?
In my hometown, I have a new identity as an anti-nationalist.
There are a few people who are relatives and known affiliates of the ruling party, who have been harassing my brother and me for three years now. They want me to leave my home and are using my comedy as propaganda to label me as anti-Hindu.
This place is small and politically charged. Once the news spread that I was arrested, people were brainwashed into thinking I’m some kind of criminal. I’ve been socially boycotted ever since.
My mother passed away just two months before I was arrested. Then I went to jail. Since then, it’s been a storm I haven’t been able to step out of.
Have you considered leaving Pithampur to escape this harassment?
I have. I thought if I left this place, my brother would find peace, so I left after being released from jail. I was in Delhi for a year and in Mumbai for about half a year, but unfortunately, I had to move back as they broke my brother’s leg in 2023.
We filed the first FIR, but nothing happened. Two months later, they broke the same leg, and again we filed an FIR, but nothing happened. When my brother was assaulted by 20 men and his leg was broken, the police didn’t even get an X-ray done.
Finally, we decided to move away to a different city. It was tough financially and mentally, but we tried. But in April 2024, I got a warrant delivered to my home, and I found out the police had registered an FIR against me for fighting with those goons.
I was completely uninformed; they directly sent an arrest warrant against me. We kept filing FIRs, and every time, they filed a cross-FIR against me. Now I have four cases, four hearings and no stable job. Who will hire someone who keeps missing work to appear in court?
The situation is tough for us. We didn’t know what to do, how to survive this situation. Financially and mentally, we are broke. Now that the land is disputed, they don’t even offer to buy it any more. They just want me gone. But this house is all I have. Where would I go? We tried selling this place, but no one would buy it due to the dispute. And in the name of wealth, I only have this.
Has there been any action taken against those harassing you?
I’m trapped in this cycle and it’s been years now. Court hearings, police station visits, fighting for justice alone. Losing jobs because of these false FIRs. Taking loans to survive, to fight a corrupt system.
For saving what is my own, somehow, this chaos has become my life now.
When this happened for the first time, I was hopeful, rebellious, strong, ready to stand up against this corrupt and immoral system. Slowly, they broke me. Even the police don’t spare me. They still call me a terrorist. They don’t respect me. They’re tired and ask, ‘Why don’t you just leave?’
I have filed multiple FIRs against those trying to seize my home, but they have never been jailed. Instead, counter-FIRs were filed against me, and police served me notices for ‘endangering lives’. They shattered my beliefs, crushed my support, and stripped away my will to survive. They threatened me to the very core of my being. I’ve accepted this as my fate now. In the end, you are your own hero, fighting against people who lack morals and values.
In December 2024, my third arrest warrant notice was issued by the Dhar court, and I was confused about how many FIRs have been filed against me. I don’t trust any system.
I’m drowning in debt, and I lost my job because I have to appear in court at least two-three times a month.
The most recent FIR I received was in July. Every time we complained, the police said, leave the place, settle the dispute. Why should we leave our home? All of this is happening because I demanded justice for the brutality my brother and I suffered, all due to a false accusation stemming from a joke I never cracked.
Today, I believe that in India, justice is reserved only for the rich. If you’re broke and have no financial support, never seek justice, because you will lose everything in the process. My mental state is completely destroyed; I’ve never felt so alone. For the last two years, I’ve taken countless loans just to fight this battle, without a job, and losing my entire comedy career.
I’ve lost everything, yet every day I ask myself, “What was my fault?” But I still can’t find an answer. No matter how hard I try, every step I take seems to push me ten steps back.
How do you earn your income currently?
I lost my job three months ago due to all this. Earlier, I had to leave my job when my brother’s leg was broken. Venues have shunned me after the controversy. If I get a show, I do it; otherwise, I sometimes work as a daily wage worker at factories or do video editing here to earn. Nothing is fixed.
I cannot work in Delhi or Mumbai as I have to appear for my hearings. I didn’t even do graduation which makes it difficult to find jobs.
I started comedy in 2019 during my graduation. My mom got cancer, so I dropped out. During that time, I worked at MyFM. By 2021, I was performing and producing at various places in Indore. I arranged open mic comedy shows in Indore, and gave a stage to people like Bassi (Anubhav Singh Bassi, a YouTuber and comedian) and Zakir Khan. I thought comedy was enough and never paid attention to alternative careers or completing my graduation. Now, I don’t know. Nothing is stable.
I lose jobs the moment they Google my name. That’s the biggest thing, they will kill you mentally and emotionally, leaving you with no option but to give up.
Some celebrities turn controversies into opportunities for success. What would you say about that?
In the past three years, I have spent around Rs 1 lakh - Rs 2 lakh on legal battles with no stable income. People see me as a failure for not turning controversy into success, but I believe controversies are only successful when you have a big crowd cheering for you.
My brother was just 19 when they broke his leg. Then came the FIRs, the job losses. Now he just wants life to go back to normal. But what’s normal any more?
There’s no one to support us. My parents had a love marriage, so we don’t have a family to fall back on. It’s just me and my brother, holding on to the only thing we have left: this house. Sometimes, the world doesn’t recognise the effort it takes just to survive.
Sometimes, you feel like doing nothing about it and sometimes, you just want to explode with the rage you’ve buried inside for years. It’s hard fighting alone and feeling like you’re losing a little more each day.
People say why didn’t you turn the controversy into success? But not all of us get a cheering crowd. Some of us just get silence and court dates.
(Unzila Sheikh is a Delhi-based journalist and post-graduate student at Jamia Millia Islamia.)
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