In a major development, a 22-year-old law student and Instagram influencer named Sharmistha Panoli on Saturday was arrested by Kolkata Police from Gurugram. As per reports, Sharmistha Panoli has been arrested for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through her comments on social media. She was produced in the Alipore Court in Kolkata. Notably, Sharmistha Panoli became a talking point on social media when she questioned Bollywood actors and actresses' silence over Operation Sindoor against Pakistan. Sharmistha Panoli slammed 'Khans of Bollywood' for remaining mum over Indian Army's action against Pakistan-backed terrorists. Now the question arises who is Sharmistha Panoli? Below is all about Sharmistha Panoli-
Who is Sharmistha Panoli?
Sharmistha Panoli is a fourth-year BBA LLB Honours student at Symbiosis Law School, Pune. As per Indian Express, Panoli had deleted the allegedly offensive post on Instagram and apologised for her remarks on X. As per the police, a case was registered against Panoli at the Garden Reach Police station on May 15. The FIR was lodged under sections 196(1) (a) promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste, or community, 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class of citizens), 352 ( intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of peace), 353(1)(c) (statements that incite public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
After the FIR was lodged, attempts were made to serve notice as per the law, but the accused and her family had absconded. Subsequently, a warrant of arrest was issued, based on which she was arrested in Gurgaon. Sharmistha Panoli's LinkedIn profile suggests that she did her schooling at a school in Kolkata.
Sharmistha Panoli vs Bollywood
Sharmistha Panoli has been accused of uploading a video on the silence of Bollywood actors on Operation Sindoor. While speaking, she made objectionable comments on a particular religion.As per reports, Sharmistha Panoli had raised questions on Instagram about the silence of Bollywood actors on Operation Sindoor. It was said that there are 3-4 actors in Bollywood, who talk about sacrificing their lives for the country in films. But, when the opportunity came in reality, to stand up for the country, to support our soldiers, not a word came out of their mouth. They are big hypocrites. They should be ashamed.
According to reports, Sharmistha uploaded a video of her in reposone to a Pakistani social media user. The Pakistani follower had asked a question to Sharmishtha Panoli after the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Sharmishtha shared a video answering the same on 14 May 2025 through her social media account. In this, she commented on a particular religion.
As soon as Sharmishtha shared the video, people of a particular religion got angry at Sharmishtha. Demands for her arrest started rising. Also, some users threatened to kill and rape Sharmistha Panoli. Such threats flooded her social media account. Sharmistha also posted screenshots of these threats on her social media.
Sharmistha deleted her video after backlash
After the video was protested and the police registered a case, Sharmistha apologized on social media. Sharmistha wrote 'I apologize unconditionally to everyone. Whatever I said is my personal feelings. My intention was not to hurt anyone intentionally. I will be careful about my public posts in the future. Please forgive me once again.'
Despite deleting the video from social media and apologizing, Sharmistha was receiving threats in the comments. Due to security reasons, Sharmistha left Kolkata with her family and came to Delhi NCR. Along with this, she posted that - Radical Pakistani terrorists are targeting her because she targeted Pakistan.
After receiving threats, Sharmishtha wrote 3 things on social media
So that I cannot raise my voice against Pakistanis: Sharmishtha wrote- I talked about some public figures, whom I felt were not vocal enough against the attacks against innocent people. I have no attachment to any religion. But the sad thing is that one of my videos is being misinterpreted and propagated so that I cannot raise my voice against Pakistanis.
Harassing my parents by sending mails: Sharmishtha further wrote- These people are harassing my family by sending mails to my parents, insulting them and also sending mails to my college. Rape threats to me and my parents can only come from those who do not sympathize with the innocent people of the Pahalgam terrorist attacks.
Being threatened for standing with the country: In another post, Sharmistha wrote- We are being threatened in our own country for standing up for our beloved India. Enduring such harassment has been extremely painful not only for me but also for my family, as their location and photos are being circulated all over the internet.