Wazahat Khan has been taken into custody by the Kolkata Police for allegedly inciting hatred and offending religious sentiments. This arrest occurred on Monday evening at the Amherst Street police station, following a case filed against him under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) at the Golf Green police station.
Khan had previously lodged a complaint against Sharmistha Panoli, a law student, who was apprehended in Gurugram for her comments on social media that were deemed offensive to religious sentiments.
The situation escalated when Prasun Maitra, president of an NGO from North 24 Parganas, filed a police report against Khan, accusing him of posting abusive and anti-Hindu content on X.
In his complaint to the Kolkata Police and the Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), Maitra highlighted that Khan's now-deleted tweets had hurt the feelings of millions of Hindus worldwide, providing screenshots as evidence.
Maitra urged the police to take legal action against Khan, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the integrity of law enforcement in light of their recent efforts against communal posts.
This incident follows Panoli's Instagram video, where she allegedly made derogatory comments about a specific religion. After deleting the video, she issued an unconditional apology but was still remanded to judicial custody until June 13.
On Saturday, Panoli appeared before the Alipore Court in Kolkata, which ordered her to remain in custody for 14 days.
The Kolkata Police reported that multiple attempts to deliver legal notices to Panoli and her family were unsuccessful, as they had gone into hiding. Consequently, an arrest warrant was issued, leading to her capture in Gurugram on Friday night.