Sharmishta - a proud Hindu - arrested under pressure, says her father

Kolkata, June 5 Prithiviraj Panoli, the father of social media influencer and law student Sharmishta Panoli, who is under judicial custody in connection with a controversial post on Operation Sindoor, revealed on Thursday that his daughter was arrested under "pressure".

In an exclusive interview with IANS, Prithviraj Panoli revealed some unknown facts about the entire matter.

Here are a few excerpts:

IANS: Is the Mamata government targeting Sharmishta?

Prithviraj Panoli: See, we are fighting legally. Now, is there any politics behind it? We are not bothered. We are just focused on getting our daughter released.

IANS: Do you think Sharmishta has been arrested due to appeasement politics?

Prithviraj Panoli: I don't want to go into this. Sharmishta is a proud Hindu. She will not do anything which will hurt others. If, unknowingly, she hurt somebody, it is a different matter. I don't want to comment on why a case was registered against her, but there was a lot of pressure on the government to arrest her.

IANS: Is Sharmishta facing a threat in the prison?

Prithviraj Panoli: As per jail rules, I spoke to her two days ago. She was facing problems on the medicine front. She is under medication for her kidney and Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These medicines can be obtained only after showing a prescription, and in a hurry, we are unable to find it. Moreover, in prison, there is a problem of mosquitoes, and the fan was unavailable. She is in trouble in jail.

IANS: How is Sharmishta's mental health in jail?

Prithviraj Panoli: She got shocked since the day she was brought from Gurugram, and her bail was rejected. I and her lawyer made her understand a lot. You must have seen her video, which went viral; she said it is not democracy. She is a law student. You can guess how her mental health would have been, as all the charges imposed against her were bailable.

IANS: Will you want the case to be transferred out of West Bengal?

Prithviraj Panoli: I do not want to comment on it right now. We will decide it after meeting with our lawyer.

IANS: Sharmishta's college has suspended her. What will she do now?

Prithviraj Panoli: She is doing an internship. She missed two examinations because of the suspension. We are sure that college will help us. We will talk to them when she is out of jail.

IANS: Were you aware of her social media post on Operation Sindoor?

Prithviraj Panoli: Sharmishta resides in Pune, and my wife and I live in Kolkata. She used to show us her posts, which had abusive comments. Being an old school of thought, I objected to the abusive language. But she had assured that nothing would happen, and I didn't need to worry. But I was unaware of her post on Operation Sindoor. She must be unaware of the meaning of the words she used.

IANS: Have you got any help from West Bengal's BJP unit?

Prithviraj Panoli: Our fight is legal. We have been offered support from Hindu organisations. She prays to Goddess Saraswati. Many people went to meet her in prison. I don't want to make it political, but we have a lot of support from Hindu outfits.

For the unversed, an FIR was registered against Panoli on May 15 in West Bengal, for posting an Instagram video, in which she made some comments on Operation Sindoor reportedly hurting the religious sentiments of a particular community.

She was arrested in Gurugram, Haryana, and brought to Kolkata on transit remand. She was produced before a court, which sent her to judicial custody till June 13.

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