Pune Law Student Arrested In Gurugram For Allegedly Making Offensive Remarks On Prophet Over Operation Sindoor
New Delhi: A Pune law student, identified as Sharmistha Panoli, was arrested by Kolkata Police from Gurugram on Friday night for allegedly making offensive remarks while replying to a post on Operation Sindoor.
Sharmistha Panoli, a Pune law student, was arrested in Gurugram by Kolkata Police for offensive remarks in an Instagram video about "Operation Sindoor," targeting a specific religion. The deleted video went viral, sparking outrage and a police complaint in Kolkata, prompting an FIR for allegedly hurting community sentiments.
What Was In The Video?
In the video, Sharmishta reacts to a comment which stated India started a war without reason and asks for proof of Pakistan's firing on India on Instagram. Sharmishta responds with derogatory remarks, mentioning the Prophet and ancestors as 'delulu', slang for delusional, claiming they do not have 42 angels waiting for them in heaven, but instead they visited brothel. She subsequently noted that India's reaction came after the Pahalgam incident and various other attacks by Pakistan. The video posted by Sharmishta on her social media page has been taken down.
A police officer stated that the video hurt the religious sentiments of religious community and their diety. After she and her family reportedly absconded to evade a legal notice, a court issued an arrest warrant. Following her arrest, Panoli posted an unconditional apology on social media, stating that her comments were personal feelings and expressing remorse for any hurt caused, and promised to be more cautious in her future public posts.
Authorities claimed that repeated attempts to serve a legal notice to Panoli failed as she and her family had allegedly absconded. Following this, a court issued a warrant of arrest, based on which she was arrested from Gurugram.
However, following the controversy, Panoli tendered an unconditional apology on social media and deleted her videos and posts.
She wrote 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."
Similar Case
In a related incident, a 19-year-old engineering student was also arrested for criticizing Operation Sindoor via social media but was released on bail, allowing her to sit for her semester exams under heightened security. The Bombay High Court ordered her release from Yerwada Central Jail, expressing concerns over the police's actions against her. Her lawyer confirmed she received her admit card and completed her exam as scheduled following her release.
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