Kolkata Police defends arrest of Pune student, says ‘hate speech not free speech’

The Kolkata Police on Sunday said that “hate speech should not be misconstrued as freedom of speech”. This came amid an uproar after the arrest of a 22-year-old law student in Gurugram for social media posts about Prophet Muhammad that allegedly hurt religious sentiments.

The student, identified as Sharmishta Panoli, is a fourth-year business and law student at a Pune university. She had reportedly made the comments on Instagram in the wake of Operation Sindoor, but later deleted the post and issued an apology on X.

A case was filed against Panoli at Kolkata’s Garden Reach Police Station on May 15. The 22-year-old was arrested on Friday, after which she was brought to Kolkata on a transit remand and remanded to judicial custody till June 13.

Several politicians, including many from the Bharatiya Janata Party, have questioned Panoli’s arrest.

On Sunday, the Kolkata Police claimed a few social media accounts were spreading false information that the 22-year-old had been “unlawfully arrested” for “opposing Pakistan”.

“This narrative is mischievous and misleading,” it stated. “Expressing national pride and patriotism is a thing that every citizen and organisation stands for. Kolkata Police being no different, stands firmly with the citizens of India.”

Some social media accounts are spreading false information that Kolkata Police has unlawfully arrested a law student for opposing Pakistan....

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