Dimissing claims that an Instagram influencer, who uploaded a video with alleged communal comments in reference to Operation Sindoor was arrested unlawfully, the Kolkata Police has said several attempts were made to serve notice to her, but she deliberately stayed away.
Influencer Sharmishta Panoli, who is studying law at an institute in Pune, uploaded the video recently and faced a backlash, after which she deleted it and issued an apology. A complaint had, however, already been filed against her in Kolkata by then. When attempts to serve notice failed, a court issued an arrest warrant against Ms Panoli and she was arrested from Gurugram – where she had gone with her family – by the Kolkata Police on Friday night.
Her arrest was termed unlawful by some on social media and BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari slammed the Trinamool Congress for taking her into custody to “appease a certain votebank” while refusing to act against its own leaders. In a statement on Saturday, the Kolkata Police said some “social media narratives suggesting an unlawful arrest” of a law student are “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,” the statement said.
“We urge all concerned to refrain from spreading unverified or speculative content and to rely on authentic sources for information,” it added.Hitting out at the Mamata Banerjee-led government, Mr Adhikari said action is only taken against ‘sanatanis’.
“FIRs were filed against (Trinamool MP) Mahua Moitra after she made derogatory comments about Goddess Kali. Was any action taken? What did their MP Saayoni Ghosh post about Mahadev (Lord Shiva)? Was any action taken? There have been so many FIRs against Firhad Hakim, but there has been no action. The action is only taken against ‘sanatanis’. Everyone here has a licence to abuse ‘sanatanis’,” the BJP leader said.
“What they (Trinamool Congress) are doing is appeasement politics. A certain community is their votebank and they are doing this to appease them. Mahua Moitra used derogatory language against Goddess Kali in a talk show, 200 FIRs were registered. Was any action taken? No,” he added.
India’s active coronavirus cases have risen to nearly 3,000, with Kerala fighting the latest resurgence of infections – followed by Maharashtra, and Delhi. Official data shows a quick rise in the cases within four days. While India recorded a total of 1,010 cases by May 26, the official data by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare shows a total of 2,710 infections as of May 30.
According to the data, Kerala has recorded 1,147 cases, Maharashtra 424, Delhi 294, and Gujarat 223. Tamil Nadu has recorded a total of 148 cases so far, while Karnataka and West Bengal have reported 148 and 116 cases, respectively.
Rajasthan has reported 51 cases, Uttar Pradesh 42, Puducherry 25, Haryana 20, Andhra Pradesh 16, Madhya Pradesh 10, Goa seven, and Odisha, Punjab, and Jammu Kashmir four each. Three states – Telangana, Arunachal Pradesh, and Chandigarh have reported three cases each, while Mizoram and Assam have two people detected with the infection each so far.
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