Instagram influencer arrested in Gurugram over post on Operation Sindoor

Sharmishta Panoli, an Instagram Influencer was arrested by the Kolkata Police from Gurugram for allegedly uploading a video with communal overtones. She was arrested on Friday night after she — in a now deleted video — accused Bollywood actors of maintaining silence on Operation Sindoor.

Following an uproar over her video and subsequent complaints, the Kolkata Police traced her to Gurugram. Panoli, a law student at Pune's Law University, had posted a video criticising Bollywood actors, which went viral and sparked outrage on social media. Facing intense trolling, she deleted the video and issued an apology. However, the Kolkata Police had already filed an FIR against her and issued legal notices. Due to the inability to serve the notices, the matter was brought in a court, which issued an arrest warrant against Panoli.

“Several attempts were made to send legal notices to Panoli and her family, but they disappeared. After that, the police placed the matter in a court. The court issued her arrest warrant, and on Friday night, police arrested her from Gurugram,” said an official of Kolkata police.