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Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Pawan Kalyan condemns Sharmishta Panoli's arrest: ‘Secularism must be a two-way street'
Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan on Saturday condemned the arrest of influencer Sharmishta Panoli by the West Bengal police over an allegedly communal video, saying that 'secularism must be a two-way street'. He urged the West Bengal Police to act 'justly' and said that while "blasphemy must be condemned," secularism should not be wielded as a 'shield'. 'During Operation Sindoor, Sharmista, a law student, spoke out, her words regrettable and hurtful to some. She owned her mistake, deleted the video and apologised. The WB Police swiftly acted, taking action against Sharmistha. But what about the deep, searing pain inflicted upon millions when elected leaders, MPs of TMC, mock Sanatana Dharma? Where is the outrage when our faith is called 'Gandha Dharm'? Where is their apology? Where is their swift arrest?' Pawan Kalyan questioned in a post on X. The actor-turned-politician further said, 'Blasphemy must be condemned, always! Secularism isn't a shield for some and a sword for others. It must be a two-way street. West Bengal Police, the nation is watching. Act justly for all. #IstandwithSharmistha. #EqualJustice' Social media influencer Sharmishta Panoli was arrested by Kolkata Police from Gurugram in Haryana for allegedly sharing a communal video that triggered significant outrage online. The controversy stems from a now-deleted Instagram video in which Panoli had criticised Bollywood celebrities for staying silent on 'Operation Sindoor.' According to police sources, the clip was widely circulated and drew accusations of promoting hate speech. Following intense trolling and threats in the comments, Panoli removed the video and issued a public apology. Despite the apology, an FIR had already been registered in Kolkata. Authorities said multiple attempts were made to serve legal notices to Panoli and her family. When those efforts failed, a court issued an arrest warrant, leading to her late-night detention in Gurugram on Friday. She was presented before a local court and subsequently taken to Kolkata on transit remand, according to The Indian Express. Police sources confirmed that Panoli has been booked under sections 196(1)(a) (promoting enmity between groups based on religion or community), 299 (acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 352 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), and 353(1)(c) (inciting public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. After the incident, Panoli made her Instagram account private and deleted posts from her other handles. In a May 15 story highlight, she issued an unconditional apology, stating she never meant to hurt anyone's religious sentiments.
NDTV
4 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
"Secularism Must Be 2-Way Street": Pawan Kalyan Slams Influencer's Arrest
Kolkata Police's move to arrest influencer Sharmistha Panoli over a communal post has sparked a political row. BJP ally and Andhra Pradesh's Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has flagged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's remarks and stressed that "secularism must be a two-way street". Kolkata Police yesterday arrested Sharmistha Panoli, a 22-year-old law student, over social media videos in which she used abusive and communally-charged language and also targeted Bollywood actors for not speaking out during Operation Sindoor, India's counterstrike to the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 innocents dead. The FIR against Sharmistha Panoli, filed after a complaint in Kolkata, invokes Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections linked to promoting enmity on grounds of religion, deliberate acts to outrage religious feelings and intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace. She was produced in court and remanded in judicial custody for 14 days. Jana Kalyan Sena leader Pawan Kalyan took to X to comment on the student's arrest. During Operation Sindoor, Sharmistha, a law student, spoke out, her words regrettable and hurtful to some. She owned her mistake, deleted the video and apologized. The WB Police swiftly acted, taking action against Sharmistha. But what about the deep, searing pain inflicted… — Pawan Kalyan (@PawanKalyan) May 31, 2025 "During Operation Sindoor, Sharmistha, a law student, spoke out, her words regrettable and hurtful to some. She owned her mistake, deleted the video and apologized. The WB Police swiftly acted, taking action against Sharmistha. But what about the deep, searing pain inflicted upon millions when elected leaders, MPs of TMC, mock Sanatana Dharma? Where is the outrage when our faith is called 'Gandha Dharm'? Where is their apology? Where is their swift arrest?," he asked. Targeting the BJP, Ms Banerjee has said the party was trying to incite "communal riots through divisive politics" in Bengal and asserted that its "ganda dharma" was contrary to the true principles of Hinduism. Sharing a video of the Trinamool Congress chief's remarks, Mr Kalyan said, "Blasphemy must be condemned, always! Secularism isn't a shield for some and a sword for others. It must be a two-way street. West Bengal Police, the nation is watching. Act justly for all." Kolkata Police have said 'certain social media narratives suggesting an unlawful arrest of a law student are factually incorrect and misleading". "All legal procedures were duly adhered to. All attempts were made to serve notice, but she was found absconding on every occasion. Consequently, a warrant of arrest was issued by the competent court, following which she was apprehended lawfully from Gurgaon. She was thereafter produced before the appropriate magistrate and granted transit remand as per due process of law. We urge all concerned to refrain from spreading unverified or speculative content and to rely on authentic sources for information," it said in a post on X. Soon after her post sparked an uproar, the law student deleted it and issued an apology. Mamata Banerjee - 'Maha Kumbh is Mrityu Kumbh'. 'Jai Shree Ram is insulting abusive cuss word, hurled towards her.' ❌ No legal action. Mahua Moitra - 'Kali to me is a meat-eating, alcohol-accepting Goddess,' ❌ No legal action. Firhad Hakim - 'Those who are not born in Islam… — Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) June 1, 2025 The influencer's arrest has also drawn criticism from Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal Assembly. Sharing Mr Kalyan's post and flagging controversial remarks by Trinamool leaders, Mr Adhikari has asked Kolkata Police where its zeal is when Hindu deities are vandalised and Ramnavami and Hanuma Jayanti processions come under stone-pelting.
Indian Express
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Suvendu Adhikari says ‘Kashmiris' installed ‘high-performance wireless network' at Baruipur home; police say they are from Bhopal, find no foulplay
West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that two Kashmiri men 'installed a NanoBeam 2AC compact and high-performance wireless network bridge at the rooftop' at their residence in Baruipur, located at the southern outskirts of Kolkata. Both the police and Speaker Biman Banerjee denied the allegation. The police said that the two residents are from Madhya Pradesh. Adhikari posted on X, 'A local contact of mine has shared information with me that two Kashmiri individuals have installed a NanoBeam 2AC compact and high-performance wireless network bridge at the rooftop. It's designed to provide an efficient and reliable solution for high-speed, long-distance wireless connectivity.' He said, 'I would request DGP @WBPolice, @NIA_India to look into it and find out whether any suspicious activity is going on.' After the post, the Speaker said, 'We are deeply saddened after the incident in Kashmir. At this time, we should maintain our calm and communal harmony. But I don't know why the Leader of Opposition is trying to instigate violence. He also burnt the Pakistan flag, gave out slogans on Hinduism. He doesn't realise that Hindus reside in Bangladesh or Pakistan. They can be attacked. It is very unfortunate.' Baruipur police Superintendent of Police (SP) Prakash Chandra Dhali said, 'As soon as we got information, we started investigating. The two persons who were residing in the flat were called in and interrogated. The two are residents of Madhya Pradesh. They came to Kolkata a year ago. One of them is a civil engineer and the other is a computer engineer. Both had passed engineering in 2016 from Bhopal. They rented a 2BHK (apartment) in Baruipur and installed a Jio Fibre for internet connection on April 22.' 'We are still looking for further details. So far, all information shared by the two has been found to be correct,' he added. When asked about their purpose of staying in Baruipur, SP said, 'So far, the information is they have taken a 9-acre land in Bishnupur to start a fishing business, which is why they wanted to stay nearby. We have verified from all angles. It is a false claim that they are Kashmiris.' The SP appealed to people not to pay heed to rumours. 'However, we are enquiring further. We will take action if anyone is found creating panic. We will also analyse his (Suvendu Adhikari's) tweet and may take action.' As per the police, they are also enquiring why it took so much time for the owner to make a rent agreement. 'There are hibernation periods and rent agreements sometimes take time. However, we are enquiring about that too.' said Dhali. Earlier on Thursday morning, Adhikari assembled with BJP MLAs in front of the main gate of the Assembly and burnt the national flag of Pakistan. Earlier, when he went to the Kolkata airport to stand with the families of the victims of the attack in Pahalgam, he said, 'They killed 26, we need 260 of their heads. Modi hai to mumkin hain (There's possibility under Modi). You wait and see, our army this time will enter Pakistan and kill them.'
