What Did Sharmishta Panoli Say That Led To Her Arrest By Kolkata Police In Gurugram?

Last Updated:June 02, 2025, 21:31 IST

Panoli, a 22-year-old law student and a social media influencer, was arrested for allegedly making communal remarks linked to Operation Sindoor.

Instagram influencer Sharmishta Panoli slams Kolkata Police after she was sent to judicial custody. (IANS)

The arrest of social media influencer Sharmishta Panoli by the Kolkata Police has triggered a political slugfest, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slamming the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal over “appeasement politics".

Panoli, a 22-year-old law student studying in Pune’s Symbiosis University and a social media influencer, was arrested from her residence in Haryana’s Gurugram for allegedly making comments on religious lines linked to Operation Sindoor. She is a resident of Kolkata’s Anandapur area. Panoli has over 80,000 followers on X and 90,000 followers on Instagram.

She was taken to Kolkata through transit remand and produced before a court in Alipore, which sentenced her to judicial custody till June 13. Panoli’s arrest drew sharp criticism from political leaders and even Dutch MP Geert Wilders, calling it politically motivated.

ALSO READ: ‘Absconding, Used Abusive Words’: What Kolkata Police Said About Sharmistha Panoli’s Arrest – News18

What Did Sharmishta Panoli Say?

In a now-deleted video, Panoli allegedly made remarks on religious lines and used abusive while criticising some Bollywood actors – particularly Muslim stars – for their silence during India’s military operation against terrorists sheltered by Pakistan.

The video triggered massive outrage and threatening messages on the influencer’s posts. Police said the video contained “derogatory and disrespectful" language targeting a particular religious community.

Panoli deleted the video on May 15 and issued an unconditional apology, however, the Kolkata Police arrested her from Gurugram on Friday based on a complaint filed at the Garden Reach Police Station, alleging that she had promoted communal disharmony.

Several politicians condemned the arrest and questioned West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee if the state police would arrest TMC leaders who made controversial remarks for the Hindu community.

However, Kolkata Police defended her arrest and said that claims surfacing online that Panoli was targeted for expressing patriotism or “opposing Pakistan" in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor were “misleading".

The police said the case against Panoli was registered under the relevant sections of the newly implemented Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). After proper investigation into the case, repeated attempts to serve legal notice to Panoli reportedly failed, with the police saying she was “absconding."

Aveek Banerjee

Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international...Read More

Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international...

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