Who Is Sharmistha Panoli? Pune Law Student Arrested In Gurugram Over Operation Sindoor Remarks

Sharmistha Panoli, a 22-year-old Pune law student and Instagram influencer, was arrested by Kolkata Police from Gurugram on Friday night for allegedly making offensive remarks on Operation Sindoor. Later, on Saturday, a Kolkata court remanded her to judicial custody till June 13.

An FIR was registered against her at Garden Reach Police Station on May 15. According to police, Panoli had uploaded a video on Instagram that contained "disrespectful and derogatory remarks" targeting a particular religion.

In the face of strong criticism, she deleted the video and also tendered a public apology in the matter. "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 cooperation and understanding. Henceforth, I will be cautious in my public posts. Again, please accept my apologies," she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Based on the FIR registered, the police first sent her a notice, which failed since she had gone into hiding in Gurugram by then. Thereafter, an arrest warrant was issued against her, and she was eventually arrested in Gurugram.

As she was presented in court on Saturday, the public prosecutor demanded her police custody. "It is important for the police to know with what intention she made such a social media post. So, she needs to be interrogated in police custody. It is necessary to know whether there were others behind her caution," the public prosecutor argued.

However, her counsel pleaded for her bail under any condition. "My client had already apologised for her comments. Even after that, she is receiving threatening calls. She is a law student. The police have already seized her laptop and mobile phone. Her statements have been recorded, so she should be granted bail under any circumstances. My client will cooperate in the investigation process," argued her counsel.

However, she was remanded to judicial custody till June 13.

Meanwhile, when she was being taken into custody, Panoli was in tears, as seen in a video of Kolkata Police escorting her. In the video, she can be heard saying, "The harassment you have done being in a democracy, this is not a fu****g democracy."