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GUWAHATI, JUNE 5: A police team from Assam has landed in Kolkata with a warrant of arrest for Wajahat Khan, who had earlier lodged a complaint against social media handle and law student Sharmishta Panoli. But Khan is absconding and the police have not been able to find him so far, say official sources.
Khan stands accused of serious offenses for posting hate and derogatory material on social media, which caused offence to religious sentiments, according to reports. Assam Police had filed a proper case against him sometime back this week. Apart from the Assam case, the Kolkata Police too have filed an independent case on a complaint filed by the Shri Ram Swabhiman Parishad.
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When the police officials went to Khan’s house in Kolkata to serve the arrest warrant, he was not present there. Authorities have since revealed that Khan has multiple cases pending across multiple states, making the investigation and enforcement process difficult.
The case has acquired broader implications after Khan’s initial complaint resulted in the arrest of 22-year-old Sharmishta Panoli. She was arrested last week from Gurugram after sharing a video on Instagram that was found offensive by some sections. Her arrest has met with public outrage and political backlash, with critics charging police overreach.
Panoli’s lawyer, Mohammed Shamimuddin, criticized the police for acting in a “harakiri” manner, claiming they failed to follow standard procedures. “They didn’t even attempt to contact her by phone. Instead, they directly obtained a magistrate’s warrant and arrested her,” he told NDTV. He argued that this procedural lapse was one of the key reasons why Kolkata Police’s request for her custody was rejected by the court.
Panoli has been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days, a decision that has raised a political storm. Opposition leaders, especially those belonging to the BJP and its allies, have taken potshots at the West Bengal state government headed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for letting the incident take a turn for the worse.
The controversy has also drawn international attention. Dutch MP Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Party for Freedom, condemned Panoli’s arrest, calling it a “disgrace for freedom of speech” and publicly urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the matter.
