Who is Sharmistha Panoli? Influencer and Pune law student arrested for 'derogatory' social media post

Instagram influencer, and Pune law student Sharmistha Panoli has been nabbed from Haryana's Gururam for allegedly making controversial remarks criticising Bollywood celebrities for their 'silence' on “Operation Sindoor.” Panoli's now deleted video had “derogatory and disrespectful" comments aimed at a particular religious community, police said.

Users flooded the comments section of Sharmistha's Instagram post prompting her to delete the video and issue a public apology.

Following an FIR that was lodged in Kolkata, late Friday night, the Kolkata Police tracked her down and arrested her in Gurugram, Haryana.

As per the Kolkata Police, all attempts were made to serve notice, but Sharmistha Panoli was found absconding on every occasion. She was produced in Alipore Court on Saturday, and has been taken into custody by the police.

Who is Sharmistha Panoli?

Sharmistha Panoli is a 22-year-old law student, enrolled at Pune's Law University, reported PTI. She currently has over 80,000 followers on both Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

Following the immense backlash that her viral video spurred, Panoli deleted the post, and issued a public apology on X. She even deleted all the posts from her Instagram handle, but in her May 15 story highlight, she issued an “unconditional apology”, stating she “never intentionally wanted to hurt anybody."

What exactly did Sharmistha Panoli say in the video?

The controversy centering Sharmistha Panoli's comments began on May 14, 2025, when the Instagram influencer posted a video responding to a Pakistani follower’s question about India’s military reaction to the Pahalgam terror attack.

In her response, Panoli reportedly made derogatory remarks about Islam and Prophet Muhammad, triggering a wave of online outrage. She also criticised Bollywood celebrities, for their ‘silence’ on Operation Sindoor, mentions multiple media reports.

#ArrestSharmishta also started trending on X, after Panoli's video went viral.

Charges against Panoli

As per police sources, the FIR against Panoli was lodged under sections 196(1) (a) promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste, or community, 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class of citizens), 352 ( intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of peace), 353(1)(c) (statements that incite public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, reported HT.