Accuser of Sharmistha Panoli now accused, arrested for communal social media posts
Telegraph | 10 June 2025
The man whose complaint led to the arrest of law student Sharmistha Panoli was himself arrested on Monday, a week after Kolkata Police lodged an FIR against him at Golf Green police station over allegedly communal social media posts.
“Wajahat Khan, 29, was arrested around 7pm from a third-floor apartment on KC Sen Street under the jurisdiction of Amherst Street police station,” an officer said.
A resident of Garden Reach’s Paharpur Road, Khan was booked under Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The section deals with promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc., and committing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony.
Assam police also registered a case against Khan on the same charge, and the state’s chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, said a police team would visit Bengal.
Questions were raised about why Kolkata Police were unable to trace Khan for days.
“Since the FIR was drawn up on June 2, police teams from the detective department searched for him in multiple locations in Digha and Howrah, but could not find him. He was finally tracked down to the KC Sen Street address on Monday evening,” the officer said.
Panoli, 22, was arrested on May 31 for alleged communal remarks made in a video uploaded on social media.