We were in touch with Kolkata Police: Sarmishtha's father on absconding charge

Prithviraj Panoli, father of Pune law student and social media influencer Sharmistha Panoli, has made serious allegations against the Kolkata Police. Talking to India Today TV, he claimed that he and his daughter had visited Lalbazar -- the headquarters of the Kolkata Police -- as well as the Anandapur police station in Kolkata, even as the same police force declared them absconding and approached the court seeking an arrest warrant against Sharmistha.

Sharmistha Panoli’s father has claimed that the Kolkata Police shared blatant, wrongful misinformation. To refute their claims, Prithviraj Panoli presented two “visitor slips,” which he says were issued by the Kolkata Police headquarters at Lalbazar on May 15, containing the names and still photographs of both Sharmistha and himself.

Significantly, the FIR against Sharmistha Panoli was registered at Gardenreach police station on May 15 and an arrest warrant was issued on May 17.

Showing the two visitors' slips, Prithviraj pointed fingers at Kolkata police, claiming that, if they were present at the police headquarters, then how can police identify them as absconding? Panoli also said that on May 17 they went to their nearest police station, i.e., Anandapur police station, seeking protection from the miscreants as Sharmistha was receiving rape and murder threats in abusive languages.

On the very same day, Gardenreach police allegedly approached court seeking an arrest warrant against her, claiming the family had absconded.

"She posted something on May 7 and then deleted it on May 8. On May 15 at around 10:30 am, Sharmishtha and I were sitting at Lal Bazar Police Station. On May 17, I went to Anandpur police station, but I was told that the senior officer in charge was on leave. On May 18, throughout the day, I kept sending messages to the police officer at headquarters who was in contact with me and some messages were sent to Anantapur police station," he said.

He also claimed that when the warrant was issued on May 17, he was with the police.

"The police did not come to our flat. You can ask the security guards of our society. If there is an entry there, then you will find it,” he told India Today.

"If the police want to send a notice, they can send it through WhatsApp or mail. Neither did I receive any notice through WhatsApp nor through mail," he claimed.

He claimed that while returning to their flat, he spotted seven to eight people lurking suspiciously around his tower. Alerted by the sight, he booked flight tickets to Gurugram for himself and Sharmistha.

"We were scared because there was no action happening here and online threats were increasing. My daughter was getting calls and messages. By the time we reached Gurgaon, it was around three o'clock in the morning. We booked a hotel next to the airport and were in the city from May 20 to May 30," he added.

He even claimed that he was in touch with officials from the Kolkata Police from Gurgaon and Sharmistha even did an internship there between May 22 and 29.

"We were scheduled to leave for Gurgaon on May 22. However, we left on May 19 out of fear. Suddenly, on May 30, the police arrived there and they said that they had to bring her to Calcutta as there was an arrest warrant. But nothing was shown to us. Even the grounds of arrest were also not shared with us," he said.