Sharmishtha Panoli, a 22-year-old from Pune, is studying law. But, she has her own influence in the world of social media, beyond the law books. More than 1.75 lakh people follow her on Instagram—yes, the same Instagram where people post their breakfast photos, but this lady speaks fearlessly on politics, patriotism and all controversial issues. Panoli’s bold and clear right-wing views often put her in the middle of debates. Be it the opposition parties, the glitz and glamour of Bollywood or Pakistan’s drama on Kashmir—she has a strong sarcasm on all of them. That is, Sharmishtha does not hesitate to speak and write, and perhaps that is why people follow her—straight talk, no nonsense!
The terror attack in Pahalgam on 14 May 2025, in which our soldiers were martyred – created a storm on social media. People were angry and sad. In response, India also directly launched “Operation Sindoor” – and entered PoK and blew up the terrorist hideouts.
Now a Pakistani influencer made fun of this action of India.
Panoli – who is not one to keep quiet – made a video, tagged that Pakistani user and posted it. Meaning, a war broke out on the internet; reply after reply, a flood of memes.
Controversy
Apart from this, in the video, Panoli openly lashed out at Bollywood people – he said, they don’t even raise their voice for the army during the operation. Then he taunted India for being ‘secular’, and did not stop there. He used profane and abusive language including comments about Islam and Prophet Muhammad. He also accused liberals and Muslims of double standards. By the way, later he deleted the video and also apologized – but by then it was too late. The clip went viral.
Arrest and legal action
The whole matter was quite serious. Several FIRs were registered across the country—in states like West Bengal, Maharashtra and Delhi—which mainly included charges of hurting religious sentiments, increasing social tension and spreading communal unrest.
In Kolkata, in particular, the police registered a case against them for spreading communal hatred. On 28 May 2025, Kolkata Police arrested Panoli from his residence in Gurugram, Haryana. He was then transferred to Kolkata, produced in court and sent to judicial custody for 14 days.
Political controversies
The political atmosphere has become quite heated. The arrest has become a major political issue, to which every party has reacted sharply.
On behalf of the BJP, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has accused the Trinamool Congress government of doing appeasement politics. Also, the BJP’s IT cell and youth wing ran a campaign on social media with the hashtag #ReleaseSharmistha, which trended for several hours.
The TMC clarified its position, saying that the law is equal for all, and the scope of freedom of expression cannot be extended to hate speech.
There has also been a reaction from other political leaders. Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan (Jana Sena Party) criticized the arrest and said that the country is keeping an eye on the whole matter. He also questioned why there is no such immediate action on anti-Hindu comments. Along with this, he also stressed the need for balance in secularism.
Celebrity and public opinion – who has what to say?
Kangana Ranaut’s statement
- Kangana, as always, showed her open and frank style.
- Kangana came out in support of Panoli.
- She said:
- “Today’s youth say anything in excitement anyway.”
- “If you arrest someone like this every time, what message will reach the rest of the youth?”
- Clearly said, it is not right to send the youth to jail.
Public reaction
- There is complete disagreement on this issue.
- On one side:
- Some people are in support of the arrest, saying – “Religious peace is necessary, no one will be allowed to say anything.”
- On the other side:
- Many people are considering it an attack on freedom of expression.
- Raising questions – “When inflammatory statements of the Hindu community are ignored, then why so much strictness here?”
- Double standards are clearly visible!
Update
Update from Kolkata—Social media influencer Sharmistha Panoli has got important relief from the Calcutta High Court. The court has asked her to pay a fine of ten thousand rupees. Along with this, the police has been directed to provide necessary security to Sharmistha Panoli.
who got him arrested
Kolkata’s Wajahat Khan had filed a petition to arrest Sharmistha Panoli, but the twist in the story is that he himself has made several objectionable posts against Hindu deities and customs. Wajahat Khan has gone missing amid an FIR lodged against him for allegedly posting objectionable posts against Hindu deities and customs.
Highlight
On Wajahat Khan’s complaint, the girl went straight to jail. The funny thing is that Wajahat himself has cases going on against him in three states for inciting religious sentiments. Now when it was his turn to be arrested, he suddenly disappeared – on top of that, he has also deleted all his posts from social media.
