Kolkata Police recently arrested a Pune-based law student named, age 22 Sharmistha Panoli for posting an Instagram video containing offensive remarks linked to Muslims
The arrest took place in Gurugram on Friday night, after Panoli and her family ignored multiple attempts to serve a legal notice.
Who is Sharmistha Panoli as video of her insulting Prophet Muhammad goes viral, bio, age, college and Instagram account ID
The video of law student, Sharmistha Panoli’s diatribe towards Islam and Muslims had earlier gone viral on Twitter/X.
Sharmishta Panoli, a fourth-year law student at Pune’s Symbiosis Institute, had expressed regret after her derogatory comments went viral on social media.
Replying to a question on Instagram, Sharmishta of Anandpur, Kolkata who is a fourth year law student at Symbiosis Law School in Pune and works at Adab Singh and Kapoor Associates went onto talk about how she felt Prophet Muhammad was delusional who believed in getting 72 virgins in heaven, going onto add how he had really been to a wh*rehouse according to her.
🚨 Controversial Video of Sharmishta Panoli on Prophet that led to her Arrest by the Kolkata Police.👮♂️ @Sharmishta__19 #IStandwithSharmishta #ReleaseSharmistha #Sharmishta #KolkataPolice #sharmistha pic.twitter.com/lnvOVBi7Tt
— Harshit Singh (@harshitsingh_x) May 31, 2025
I do hereby tender my UNCONDITIONAL APOLOGY whatever was put are my personal feelings and i never intentionally wanted to hurt anybody so if anybody is hurt I’m sorry for the same. I expect co-operation and understanding. Henceforth, i will be cautious in my public post. Again…
— Sharmishta (@Sharmishta__19) May 15, 2025
Panoli allegedly targeted a specific religion through her controversial post, sparking widespread backlash and legal action.
Sharmistha Panoli arrested for offensive remarks on Operation Sindoor
Authorities in Kolkata recently arrested a law student named Panoli following her offensive remarks, which she had shared in a video on Instagram. Panoli was accused of passing disrespectful and derogatory remarks against a particular religious group. Despite having deleted the video later, the content had already gone viral, and Kolkata Police registered an FIR. Authorities made multiple attempts to serve her a legal notice but failed; as a result, the court issued an arrest warrant. Police have since taken her into custody from Gurugram. The viral clip that Panoli posted showed her responding to a post on Operation Sindoor.
Sharmistha Panoli issues apology
Kolkata, West Bengal: Sharmistha Panoli, arrested in Gurugram by Kolkata Police for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through her comments on social media, was produced in Alipore Court, Kolkata pic.twitter.com/BHzqeBT42D
— IANS (@ians_india) May 31, 2025
Following the intense backlash, Panoli also issued an apology on X, writing:
I do hereby tender my unconditional apology. Whatever was put are my personal feelings and I never intentionally wanted to hurt anybody, so if anybody is hurt I’m sorry for the same. I expect co-operation and understanding. Henceforth, I will be cautious in my public post. Again, please accept my apologies.”
Reactions from netizens
Unsurprisingly, Panoli faced a series of mixed reactions after posting her video, with netizens expressing both anger and concern. While many users demanded strict legal action, some users even crossed the line with their threats, with one user writing:
She should be behind bars immediately for spreading hate.”
Another user commented:
Your apology is too little, too late. The damage is done.”
Disturbingly, several netizens have even issued death threats, with one user writing:
You won’t be spared.”
Another user stated:
She better stay off the internet for her own safety.” Amidst the outrage, some users urged caution, warning against mob justice and calling for due legal process.
Sharmistha Panoli biography and age
Sharmistha Panoli is a young law student who is aged 22. Panoli originally hails from Kolkata, and she has been pursuing her education in law. She is currently enrolled at law college Symbiosis in Pune and is in her fourth year.
Kolkata Police arrested Sharmistha Panoli, a Pune law student, for alleged hate speech against Prophet Muhammad in a deleted video, pic.twitter.com/28OmoOORZE
— Voice Time 🐦 (@voice__time) May 31, 2025
Sharmistha Panoli has an account with the handle @sharmishta_19, where she has over 87.9K followers. Prior to the controversy, Sharmistha Panoli was quite active on Instagram and frequently shared opinions and lifestyle content. However, Sharmistha has since removed all posts and set her account to private following the backlash.