Guwahati: Assam Police team has reached Kolkata with an arrest warrant for Wajahat Khan, the man who had earlier filed a complaint against social media influencer Sharmishta Panoli.
However, Khan is currently on the run, police officials said.
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Khan is facing charges for allegedly sharing hate-filled and derogatory content on social media that reportedly hurt religious sentiments. A formal case was registered against him by Assam Police earlier this week.
Additionally, Kolkata Police have also filed a separate case based on a complaint lodged by the Shri Ram Swabhiman Parishad, as per news agency.
When police visited Khan’s residence in Kolkata to execute the warrant, he was not found at home. Authorities confirmed that Khan is facing multiple cases across various states.
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The case took a controversial turn after Khan’s initial complaint led to the arrest of 22-year-old Sharmishta Panoli, a law student and influencer, who allegedly shared a video on Instagram deemed offensive by some. She was arrested last week from Gurugram amid growing protests against her post.
Panoli’s arrest has sparked widespread criticism. Her lawyer, Mohammed Shamimuddin, said police acted in a “harakiri” manner, ignoring standard legal procedures. “They didn’t try to contact her by phone. Instead, they obtained a magistrate’s warrant and arrested her directly,” he said in an interview with NDTV, arguing this was a key reason why the Kolkata Police’s request for her custody was denied by the court.
The arrest triggered a political row, with the BJP and its allies criticizing the West Bengal government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Panoli was presented in court and remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.
The controversy has also attracted international attention. Dutch MP Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Party for Freedom, called Panoli’s arrest a “disgrace for freedom of speech” and urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and secure her release.
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