Sharmista arrest case: Need to differentiate between hate speech and patriotism, say Kolkata Police

New Delhi, June 1 Amid growing sympathy for arrested influencer Sharmista Panoli, the Kolkata Police on Sunday presented its patriotic credentials while countering ‘misleading narrative' surrounding their action and her objectionable social media content.

In a post on social media platform X, the Kolkata Police justified their action of apprehending the 22-year-old law student, claiming they acted lawfully according to the procedure established by law.

“Hate speech and abusive language should not be misconstrued as freedom of speech and expression as enshrined in Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution,” said the police.

“The accused was not arrested for expressing patriotism or for personal belief; legal actions were taken for sharing offensive content which promotes hatred among the communities,” the police said.

“Some social media accounts are spreading false information that Kolkata Police has unlawfully arrested a law student for opposing Pakistan. This narrative is mischievous and misleading,” said the post.

It said that the Kolkata Police took pains to differentiate between expressing national pride and hate speech targeting any religious figure or community or any class of citizens.

The police said: “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.”

“At the time when the whole country stood united and our brave citizens were fighting at the frontier, posting such content on social media which is insulting and demeaning to any class of citizens of India is most abominable act. Any such act will only benefit our enemies,” said the Kolkata Police.

The post said the law student from Gurugram was arrested on the basis of allegations that she posted a video which was insulting to the religious belief of a class of citizen of India and amounted to promoting disharmony and hatred between different communities.

The police said that hate speech targeting any religious figure or community or any class of citizens of India which has potential to incites disharmony and hatred between different communities is a punishable offence in the newly implemented Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The clarification from Kolkata Police came on a day when celebrities like Bollywood star Kangna Ranaut said the arrest over a now-deleted social media post was ‘unjustified’ and amounted to North Korea-type dictatorship.

Targeting the Trinamool government in West Bengal, the National Award-winning actress and BJP MP from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, said: “I request the government of West Bengal to not make the state another North Korea.”

Actor-cum-politician and Andhra Pradesh’s Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan also showed solidarity with Sharmistha and asked the police to act justly.

Sharmistha was arrested on Saturday from Gurugram in Haryana by Kolkata Police for posting videos containing communal remarks during Operation Sindoor. She was later sent to 14-day judicial custody.

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