New Delhi: A law student from Pune was arrested by Kolkata Police in Gurugram Friday on charges of promoting enmity and outraging religious feelings on social media, despite having rendered an apology for her comments.
Sharmistha Panoli was detained from a Gurugram hotel. “The case pertains to an Instagram video by Sharmistha Panoli that hurt the religious sentiments of the members of a particular community,” a senior police officer told ThePrint.
Panoli’s remarks were linked to Operation Sindoor. According to sources, her “disrespectful and derogatory” remarks in the video were directed at a particular religion. The video was deleted later, but by that time, it had sparked outrage on social media, leading to a police complaint in Kolkata.
The First Information Report against Panoli was lodged under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections linked to promoting enmity, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, outraging religious feelings, and statements that incite public mischief. The FIR was lodged at the Garden Reach Police Station on 15 May.
According to the FIR, a copy of which is with ThePrint, Wazahat Khan, the general secretary of Kolkata-based Rashidi Foundation, submitted a complaint against Panoli, alleging that she had made blasphemous comments against Prophet Muhammad.
“This kind of act brings disharmony, unjust, unrest in the society, and as a resident of Kolkata city, we will not tolerate such kind of blasphemy against our Prophet in our city,” the complaint read. The complaint mentioned that Panoli’s post came into heavy circulation on social media on 14 May.
Some social media users had claimed that Panoli had made allegedly derogatory remarks on Muslims and Prophet Muhammad. Her posts also show that she purportedly received hate comments and death threats for her remarks.
Senior police officers said that an arrest warrant was issued by the court for Panoli’s arrest after she could not be located to serve notices regarding the matter.
“Attempts to serve notice as per law couldn’t be successful since the accused, with her family, had absconded. Subsequently, a warrant of arrest was issued by the court of law, based on which she was arrested from Gurgaon yesterday (Friday),” a second senior police officer said.
After her comments sparked controversy, Panoli had rendered an “unconditional apology” on her X account on 15 May. “I do hereby render my unconditional apology whatever was put are my personal feelings and I never intentionally wanted to hurt anybody so if anybody is hurt I am sorry for the same. I expect co-operation and understanding. Hence forth, I will be cautious in my public post. Again please accept my apologies,” the post read.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
When Islamist terrorists carry out targeted attacks on Hindus and kill and maim them in Murshidabad, the West Bengal police do nothing. They are mute spectators to the egregious anti-Hindu pogroms carried out by Jihadi radials in West Bengal.
But if a Hindu were to “hurt” the sentiments of the Muslim community, the whole machinery of West Bengal government wakes up and becomes hyperactive.
Shame on the TMC and it’s leader Mamata Banerjee.
If Bengali Hindus do not wake up now, it will be too late. Bengal will eventually become a part of Bangladesh.