Sharmishta Panoli’s Father Backs Her After Influencer Gets Out On Bail, Flags Rape Threats

The father of influencer Sharmishta Panoli, who was recently granted interim bail by the Calcutta High Court, has spoken out following her arrest over controversial social media remarks linked to Operation Sindoor.

The 22-year-old was apprehended by Kolkata Police in Gurugram, accused of offending religious sentiments with allegedly communal statements made in a video shared online.

Photo Credit: x.com/PrithviPanoli

Days after her release on bail, her father, Prithviraj Panoli, took to X and quoted Urdu poet Allama Iqbal's patriotic song 'Saare Jahan Se Accha'.

Referring to a verse that speaks against religious animosity, Panoli noted, "He preached this to the secular Hindustan and then became one of the founding voices for Islamic Pakistan."

In a strong defence of his daughter, Panoli encouraged others to emulate her. When a social media user urged him to advise his daughter against using "inappropriate or offensive language," he responded by saying he was "ok" with her criticising "Pakistani terrorists."

"I am OK with my daughter abusing Pakistani terrorists who killed innocents in the name of religion. She only used some words what many maulanas preach openly. Are you OK for her getting rape threats for that despite apologising? Did you raise your voice against that? If yes, I am with you," he wrote.

Sharmishta Panoli's Controversial Post

Sharmishta Panoli, a 22-year-old law student from Pune, became embroiled in controversy after allegedly criticising Bollywood celebrities for their silence on "Operation Sindoor." The video rapidly went viral, sparking widespread backlash online, with many accusing her of promoting hate speech. She also reportedly received threats in the comments under her post.

Amid mounting outrage, Panoli deleted the video from Instagram and issued a public apology. In her statement, she conveyed remorse and insisted she never intended to hurt anyone's religious beliefs. She subsequently removed earlier posts as well.

Panoli's arrest by Kolkata Police has ignited a political row in West Bengal, with the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) condemning it as a case of "selective enforcement" of the law.