Mumbai: Popular stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui on Sunday was announced as the winner of the reality show ''Bigg Boss'' season 17, beating actor Abhishek Kumar through live voting.

Besides Faruqui and Kumar, the other three contestants who were competing for the trophy in the finale were actors Mannara Chopra, Ankita Lokhande, and social media personality Arun Mahashetty. Superstar Ajay Devgn served as the special guest on the last episode of he latest season that aired on Colors channel. The first contestant to be evicted in the finale from the ''Bigg Boss'' house was Arun. He was followed by Ankita and Mannara.

''Bigg Boss'' host and superstar Salman Khan announced Faruqui as the winner, who took home a cash prize of Rs 50 lakh and a car.

Many had predicted Faruqui's win on social media. The comedian first made headlines in 2021 when he was jailed for over a month for making remarks on Hindu deities during a stand-up show and allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

In 2022, he won another reality TV show, ''Lock Upp'' season one, which was hosted by actor Kangana Ranaut.

During his stint on ''Bigg Boss'' season 17, Faruqui entertained fellow housemates and viewers with his wit and charm. His personal life also remained a topic of discussion throughout the show. The latest season of ''Bigg Boss'' premiered on October 15, 2023 with 17 contestants, including Vicky Jain, Ayesha Khan, Anurag Dobhal, Aishwarya Sharma, Neil Bhatt, Isha Malviya, Jigna Vora, Firoza Khan aka Khanzaadi, and Rinku Dhawan.

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Itanagar (PTI): Eleven more bodies were retrieved on Saturday from the deep gorge in Arunachal Pradesh's Anjaw district, where a mini-truck on which 22 labourers from Assam were travelling fell, an official said.

With this, 17 bodies have been recovered from the accident site, Anjaw's deputy commissioner Milo Kojin said.

He said three more bodies will be brought out on Sunday.

The operation, being conducted by a joint team of the NDRF and Army, resumed at 6 am.

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"The retrieval process was extremely difficult because of the treacherous terrain, and the gorge is very deep," Kojin said.

The operation was suspended around 4 pm due to low visibility and will be resumed on Sunday morning, he said.

"One person is still missing, and a search operation will be carried out tomorrow," he added.

The accident happened on the evening of December 8, around 40 km from Hayuliang towards Chaglagam in the district. On the evening of December 10, one survivor managed to climb out of the gorge and reach a nearby Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) labour camp, following which the authorities were alerted.

Six bodies were recovered from the gorge on Friday and handed over to their families on Saturday.