Latest news with #Sharmistha
India Gazette
06-06-2025
- India Gazette
Court granted Sharmistha Panoli protection after threats on social media: Lawyer
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 6 (ANI): Following the interim bail granted to Law student Sharmistha Panoli by Calcutta High Court, her lawyer Kanchan Jaju said that the court has granted her protection after she received threats on social media. Advocate Kanchan Jaju said that the bail procedure is in process, and after the signature of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), it would be sent to jail, and she would be released at 5 pm. 'The court has granted her protection. She has received threats, and after the court's order to take action against any threat, there should be a reduction in it. On social media, she is receiving a lot of threats. Her parents are happy she got bail,' she added. MD Saimimuddin said, 'One of the conditions of bail was that the bond would be furnished to the satisfaction of the learned CJM at Alipur. Bond has been furnished. We have deposited an affidavit. We will send the release order from the court soon. There are some formalities of the correctional home. After that, she will be released. She will be released at 5 or 6 pm.' Sharmistha Panoli, arrested for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through a social media post, was granted interim bail by Calcutta High Court on Thursday. The court directed her to cooperate with the investigation, not leave the country, and furnished bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000. The court also ordered appropriate police protection for her. Her father, Prithviraj Panoli, expressed relief, citing her health issues, including kidney problems and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Prithviraj Panoli said, 'I am very happy. No father would like his daughter to stay in jail. Her mother was crying for a long time, but she is very happy now. There were two concerns: her kidney problem and ADHD. She needs regular medicine, but since we didn't have a prescription, the medicine wasn't given in jail.' 'Also, when the video was posted, we found out after two days and told her to delete it. We hoped this would be a lesson for her, and that she would do better in the future,' Panoli said. According to Sharmistha's lawyer, DP Singh, bail was granted on three conditions: Sharmistha must surrender her passport, cooperate with the investigation, and sign a bail bond. Singh argued that Sharmistha is a victim of circumstances and that her social media post was a defence of her country based on videos she had seen. He questioned the severity of the response, suggesting that the community's reaction was disproportionate to her actions. The 22-year-old law student from Pune, Sharmistha Panoli, was arrested by Kolkata Police in Gurugram on May 30, for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of a community with a video on Operation Sindoor. The Instagram clip was reportedly derogatory towards a particular religion. However, Panoli deleted the video and issued an apology on May 15. (ANI)
India Gazette
06-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Calcutta HC grants interim bail to law student Sharmistha Panoli, father expresses happiness
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 6 (ANI): Law student Sharmistha Panoli, arrested for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through a social media post, has been granted interim bail by the Calcutta High Court on Thursday. The court directed her to cooperate with the investigation, not leave the country, and furnished bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000. The court also ordered appropriate police protection for her. Her father, Prithviraj Panoli, expressed relief, citing her health issues, including kidney problems and Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Prithviraj Panoli said, 'I am very happy... no father would like his daughter to stay in jail. Her mother was crying for a long time, but she is very happy now. There were two concerns: his kidney problem and Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). She needs regular medicine, but since we didn't have a prescription, the medicine wasn't given in jail.' 'Also, when the video was posted, we found out after two days and told her to delete it. We hoped this would be a lesson for her, and that she would do better in the future,' Panoli said. According to Sharmistha's lawyer, DP Singh, bail was granted on three conditions: Sharmistha must surrender her passport, cooperate with the investigation, and sign a bail bond. DP Singh argued that Sharmistha is a victim of circumstances and that her social media post was a defence of her country based on videos she had seen. He questioned the severity of the response, suggesting that the community's reaction was disproportionate to her actions. Speaking to ANI, Advocate DP Singh said, 'She has got bail on 3 conditions, that she will surrender her passport, she will join the investigation and sign a bail is happening right now in the country is wrong. You just arrest speak what they see, their exposure is she said, she said it based on the videos she children don't know is a fight between India & Pakistan and they are just defending their country, so in such a situation... if we remove the clip of 5-10 seconds, she didn't say anything is a victim of circumstances...a whole community has stood up against is not like a riot took place because of what she said, so why is she being punished?' West Bengal Assembly Leader of Opposition and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said, 'Justice has been served today.' In a post on X, Suvendu Adhikari said, 'Justice has been served today - Sharmistha Panoli, a law student, aged about 22 years, has been released on interim bail by the Hon'ble High Court at Calcutta.' He called her arrest 'police atrocities' and said she was wrongly arrested for exercising her right to free speech. He accused Kolkata Police of acting to please political leaders. 'This is a case of police atrocities as an innocent young lady, for using her freedom of speech and expression, has been illegally arrested by the Kolkata Police and was sent to judicial custody. This is yet another example of police overzealousness and eagerness to please their political masters,' the post reads. Meanwhile, BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul and West Bengal BJP Legal Cell member Sanjukta Samanta filed an FIR against Wazahat Khan, who filed an FIR against Sharmistha Panoli, at two Police Stations, Ballygunje Police Station, Kolkata and Howrah Police Station. Paul said there should be equal rights and rules for every community. Speaking to ANI, Agnimitra Paul said, 'Yes, I have filed a police complaint against Wazahat Khan, who filed a police complaint against Sharmistha Panoli. I believe that Dr BR Ambedkar Ji's constitution is applicable in West Bengal, and there should be equal rights and rules for every Khan, who complained against Sharmistha Panoli, had posted an abusive post against our goddess Maa Kamakhya and Lord Krishna. If a Muslim is insulting my god and goddess, the same action needs to be taken for Wazahat Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has sent his police force to arrest Wazahat Khan, Mamata Banerjee's police, because of her Muslim appeasement, have been hiding and shielding Wazahat Khan...' The 22-year-old law student from Pune, Sharmistha Panoli, was arrested by Kolkata Police in Gurugram on May 30, for allegedly hurting religious sentiments with a video on Operation Sindoor. The Instagram clip was reportedly derogatory towards a particular religion. However, Panoli had deleted the video and issued an apology on May 15. (ANI)
India Gazette
05-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Law student Sharmistha Panoli gets interim bail from Calcutta High Court
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 5 (ANI): Law student Sharmistha Panoli, arrested for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through a social media post, has been granted interim bail by the Calcutta High Court on Thursday. The court directed her to cooperate with the investigation, not leave the country, and furnished bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000. The court also ordered appropriate police protection for her. Her father, Prithviraj Panoli, expressed relief, citing her health issues, including kidney problems and Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Prithviraj Panoli said, 'I am very happy... no father would like his daughter to stay in jail. Her mother was crying for a long time, but she is very happy now. There were two concerns, his kidney problem and Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). She needs regular medicine, but since we didn't have a prescription, the medicine wasn't given in jail.' 'Also, when the video was posted, we found out after two days, and we told her to delete it. We hoped this would be a lesson for her, and that she would do better in the future,' Panoli said. According to Sharmistha's lawyer, DP Singh, the bail was granted on three conditions: Sharmistha must surrender her passport, must cooperate with the investigation and must sign a bail bond. DP Singh argued that Sharmistha is a victim of circumstances and that her social media post was a defense of her country based on videos she had seen. He questioned the severity of the response, suggesting that the community's reaction was disproportionate to her actions. Speaking to ANI, Advocate DP Singh said, 'She has got bail on 3 conditions, that she will surrender her passport, she will join the investigation and sign a bail is happening right now in the country is wrong. You just arrest speak what they see, their exposure is she said, she said it based on the videos she children don't know is a fight between India & Pakistan and they are just defending their country, so in such a situation... if we remove the clip of 5-10 seconds, she didn't say anything is a victim of circumstances...a whole community has stood up against is not like a riot took place because of what she said, so why is she being punished?' The 22-year-old law student from Pune, Sharmistha Panoli, was arrested by Kolkata Police in Gurugram on May 30, for allegedly hurting religious sentiments with a video on Operation Sindoor. The Instagram clip was reportedly derogatory towards a particular religion. However, Panoli had deleted the video and issued an apology on May 15. (ANI)
Indian Express
04-06-2025
- Indian Express
Influencer Sharmishta Panoli's father says she didn't run away: ‘Was in touch with police till May 26'
The father of 22-year-old social media influencer and law student Sharmishta Panoli on Wednesday rejected Kolkata Police's claim that she had run away after police served her notice following the registration of an FIR against her for hate speech. Instead, he said, that her daughter had approached the cyber cell of Kolkata Police on May 15 to complain about the threats she has been receiving following her Instagram posts. In a video and written statement released by her father, Prithviraj Panoli, he said: 'Sharmistha was in Pune till May 15. Due to the social media post, she was getting a lot of threat calls and she called me around midnight on May 14 asking me what to do. On May 15, we met senior cyber cell officers at Lal Bazar.' He said that he and his daughter went to Anandapur Police Station, which is under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Police, seven times between May 15 and May 19 to register online and mobile threats received by her. 'I was in touch with Lalbazar police till May 26 through WhatsApp communications, since all our normal calls were deactivated to avoid the online and mobile threats from all over India and abroad. From May 22 onwards, Sharmistha started her internship in Delhi. She continued with her internship till May 29 till West Bengal Police arrested her on May 30,' her father claimed. Prithviraj Panoli also accused the police of not providing him with the copy of the FIR registered against his daughter. 'Out of fear, we went to Delhi. We or Sharmistha were not absconding or running away from the police,' he said. 'As per information received, West Bengal Police conducted searches at places like Saharanpur, Noida, and Ghaziabad, even though we were in a single hotel in Gurugram for the entire period from May 20 till May 30, till Sharmistha was arrested,' he claimed. Panoli was arrested from Gurgaon, Haryana, by the Kolkata Police on May 30. She was brought to Kolkata on transit remand and remanded to judicial custody till June 13. Her interim bail plea was rejected by the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday.
Time of India
03-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Rupali Ganguly slams West Bengal police over Sharmistha Panoli's arrest, questions her treatment in custody; here's what we know
Actor Rupali Ganguly, known for speaking up on social issues, expressed concern over the treatment of influencer and law student Sharmistha Panoli, who was arrested by Kolkata Police. Ganguly responded to a lawyer's post detailing Sharmistha's health issues and custodial conditions. Questions over custody conditions Sharmistha's lawyer, Md Samimuddin, claimed that his client suffers from kidney stones and alleged that hygiene standards in custody were not being maintained. He also stated that Sharmistha was not being allowed to access newspapers or magazines. A court petition has reportedly been filed requesting basic rights for her. Rupali's criticism of police Responding to the lawyer's post, Ganguly questioned the role of the West Bengal Police, saying, 'Has West Bengal Police, so much under the pressure of Mamata Banerjee, that they have forgotten even basic humanity?' She further asked, 'Why is this girl being treated as if she is a murderer or a gangster?' She tagged the National Commission for Women (NCW) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), requesting them to step in. Background of the arrest Sharmistha Panoli was arrested by Kolkata Police from Gurugram on May 30. The arrest followed a video where she allegedly made communal remarks while replying to a post about Operation Sindoor. Following criticism, she deleted the post and issued an apology. Has West Bengal Police, So much under the pressure of Mamata Banerjee, that they have forgotten even basic humanity? why is this girl being treated as if she is a murderer or a Gangster? I Request @NCWIndia & @India_NHRC to intervene in this matter#sharmistha Apology issued In a post on X, Sharmistha wrote, 'I do hereby tender my UNCONDITIONAL APOLOGY. Whatever was put are my personal feelings and I never intentionally wanted to hurt anybody... Henceforth, I will be cautious in my public post. Again, please accept my apologies.' Police response to allegations Following criticism of the arrest being termed 'unlawful', Kolkata Police reportedly stated that due legal procedures were followed during the arrest. Sharmistha remains in judicial custody until June 13.
