The Kolkata police on Friday afternoon arrested a 22-year-old law student from her Gurgaon residence over an allegedly objectionable social media post. The woman, Sharmistha Panoli, is a student of Symbiosis, Pune, and has a sizeable social media following – almost 85,000 followers on X and 90,000 on Instagram.
On May 14, the AIMIM’s national spokesperson, Waris Pathan, had shared a video purportedly posted by her and alleged that she had insulted the Prophet and tried to spread communal disharmony. In his post, Pathan tagged the Home Minister and sought her arrest.
On May 15, Panoli posted on X, “I do hereby tender my unconditional apology. Whatever was put are my personal feelings and I never intentionally wanted to hurt anybody, so if anybody is hurt, I’m sorry for the same. I expect co-operation and understanding. Henceforth, I will be cautious in my public post. Again, please accept my apologies.”
On Saturday, she was produced in a court in Alipore and remanded in judicial custody until 13 June. According to the FIR, police received a complaint at Garden Reach police station on May 14 from one Wajahat Khan.
Chief Public Prosecutor, Alipore Police Court, Sourin Ghoshal said, “She knew about the consequences of her actions, being a law student. Several police stations have complaints against her, so we need to question her thoroughly.”
In a statement, the Kolkata Police said, “Certain social media narratives suggesting an unlawful arrest of a law student are factually incorrect and misleading. All legal procedures were duly adhered to. All attempts were made to serve notice, but she was found absconding on every occasion. Consequently, a warrant of arrest was issued by the competent court, following which she was apprehended lawfully from Gurgaon. She was thereafter produced before the appropriate magistrate and granted transit remand as per due process of law. We urge all concerned to refrain from spreading unverified or speculative content and to rely on authentic sources for information.”
Sources said that while her family is in Gurgaon, they have property in Anandapur, Kolkata.
She has been charged under sections of promoting enmity between different groups, acts intended to outrage religious feelings, insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, and statements that incite public mischief. -(The Indian Express)
