Police book complainant in Sharmistha Panoli case for hurting religious sentiments

Kolkata: Kolkata Police has registered an FIR against Wajahat Khan Qadri, the man whose complaint led to the arrest of social media influencer Sharmistha Panoli, for hurting religious sentiments, and he is now absconding, senior officers said here on Wednesday.

An FIR has been registered based on a police complaint which accused him of uploading "malicious and inflammatory" content on social media, aimed at hurting the sentiments of a religious community.

"He (Wajahat Khan Qadri) is presently absconding. We have started an investigation into the case," a senior Kolkata Police officer told PTI.

A trust, Shri Ram Swabhiman Parishad, has lodged a complaint against Wajahat Khan Qadri at Kolkata's Garden Reach police station. It is the same police station where he filed the complaint against Sharmishta Panoli.

The FIR against him comes in the wake of multiple complaints lodged in various parts of the country, including Mumbai and Assam, accusing him of spreading hate speech and making derogatory remarks against religious deities in social media posts.

Qadri's family members have defended him, claiming he is "innocent and secular".

The head of the Rashidi Foundation and a resident of Kolkata's Garden Reach, Qadri is currently absconding, police confirmed on Wednesday.

The Kolkata Police arrested Sharmishtha Panoli on the basis of a complaint by him from Gurugram on Friday night for allegedly uploading a video with communal comments claiming Bollywood actors were silent on Operation Sindoor.

On Saturday, a Kolkata court sent Panoli to judicial custody till June 13.