Kolkata : Wajahat Khan, the man who filed the initial complaint leading to the arrest of law student and social media influencer Sharmistha Panoli, was arrested by Kolkata Police on Monday. Acting on a tip-off, Khan was apprehended from the Amherst Street area and is set to be produced in court on Tuesday, asper a report by the Indian Express.
Khan, 30, co-founder of the Rashidi Foundation, has been facing multiple legal complaints across West Bengal and Assam for allegedly promoting hate speech and offending religious sentiments through his social media posts.
According to police sources, Khan had been absconding since the filing of at least five complaints in the aftermath of Panoli’s arrest on May 30. The first complaint was filed by the Shri Ram Swabhiman Parishad on June 2, accusing Khan of spreading enmity between religious communities and provoking public disorder.
Following the developments, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that a case had also been registered against Khan in Assam for allegedly making derogatory remarks about Devi Maa Kamakhya. “Our police will request the West Bengal government to hand him over. The extent of cooperation remains to be seen,” Sarma added.
Khan has been booked under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Sections 196(1)(a) (promoting enmity between different groups), 299 (deliberate and malicious acts to outrage religious feelings), 352 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), and 353(1)(c) (inciting public mischief).
Meanwhile, Panoli, 22, who was arrested by Kolkata Police from Gurgaon over an allegedly objectionable social media post, was granted interim bail last week.
As per a senior police official, Assam Police teams had previously conducted searches for Khan, but were unable to locate him until the recent operation led to his capture.
