On Sunday, June 1, 2025, Kolkata Police addressed the controversial arrest of Sharmishta Panoli, a 22-year-old law student from Pune, arrested in Gurugram for social media posts related to Operation Sindoor, reported Scroll.
The posts, allegedly made on Instagram, were deemed offensive to religious sentiments, which led to her arrest and judicial custody until June 13.
Sharmishta Panoli, a fourth-year business and law student, reportedly posted a video on Instagram that was considered insulting to religious beliefs.
A case was registered against her on May 15 at Kolkata’s Garden Reach Police Station under the relevant section of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). She was apprehended on Friday, May 30, and brought to Kolkata on a transit remand. Panoli later deleted the post, issuing an apology on the social media platform X.
Kolkata Police clarified that Panoli’s arrest was lawful and not related to expressing patriotism, as some social media accounts falsely claimed.
“This narrative is mischievous and misleading,” it stated. “Expressing national pride and patriotism is a thing that every citizen and organisation stands for. Kolkata Police being no different, stands firmly with the citizens of India.”
Further addressing claims that Panoli was unlawfully arrested, Kolkata Police refuted such claims, saying that such narratives are "mischievous and misleading".
They further stated, “At the time when the whole country stood united and our brave citizens were fighting at the frontier, posting such content on social media which is insulting and demeaning to any class of citizens of India is most abominable act. Any such act will only benefit our enemies.”
The arrest has drawn criticism from several politicians, including members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who questioned the legal actions taken against Panoli.
