The Trinamool Congress (TMC) party is leaving no stone unturned to turn the life of a 22-year-old college student, Sharmishta Panoli, into a ‘living hell’ to appease its Muslim vote bank, which has taken serious offence to her Instagram video targeting Pakistan.
The Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government, in an act of clear overreach, sent its police force 1500 km away to Gurgaon to arrest the young Hindu girl and bring her to Kolkata. A local court rejected her bail petition and sent her to judicial custody for 2 long weeks.
According to the victim’s lawyer, she is not doing well physically amid unhygienic conditions at the Alipore women correctional home.
She apologized
— Akshay Akki ಅಕ್ಷಯ್?? (@FollowAkshay1) May 30, 2025
She deleted the video
Then came the r@pe threats, mu*der threats and morphed photos.
She was the victim. But who did @KolkataPolice arrest..?
Her @Sharmishta__19 ?#IStandwithSharmishta pic.twitter.com/I3SFualODQ
In the meantime, the police force and the TMC-run administration turned a blind eye to the rape, death and ‘Sar Tan se Juda’ threats unleashed against Sharmishta Panoli online by Muslim social media users.
The Kolkata police, which works under the directives of the Mamata regime, also justified the arrest of the 22-year-old college student.
When it came to light that Wazahat Khan, the man who filed the police complaint against Sharmishta Panoli, also posted derogatory remarks against Hindu deities, the complaints fell on the deaf ears of Kolkata police. This is despite the fact that Khan does not live 1500 km away but right in the heart of Kolkata.
Through its strategic inaction against a radical Muslim man who tried to stir communal tension through his posts, the ruling TMC government ensured that it did not alienate its Muslim supporters (who endorse the selective application of rule of law).
The high-handedness of the Mamata-run administration did not stop at merely rationalising the arrest of the 22-year-old college girl or ignoring the objectionable posts made by Wazahat Khan.
The TMC ecosystem went ahead and painted a target on the head of Sharmihsta Panoli, who was already being hounded by online Muslim lynch mob.
If she had been my daughter, I would have performed her last rites by now and would have disowned her….!!
— ???? ????? (@DrRijuDutta_TMC) June 1, 2025
She’s NOT a child, She’s a 22yr old Law Student…Whatever she said and did was done purposefully to gain RW attention & social media clout…
The BJP IT Cell coolies & RW… pic.twitter.com/nboIlbfxho
Trinamool Congress spokesperson Riju Dutta, who had previously made misogynist remarks against Smriti Irani and peddled doctored videos, attempted to dehumanise Sharmishta Panoli and strip her off human dignity.
“If she had been my daughter, I would have performed her last rites by now and would have disowned her…” he brazened out.
“She’s NOT a child. She’s a 22yr old Law Student…Whatever she said and did was done purposefully to gain RW attention & social media clout…” Riju Dutta laid the foundation for further targeting and harassment by Muslim lynch mob online.
Prominent TMC leader Kunal Ghosh claimed that his party does not ‘support’ any posts or activities that create division in society. “If legal action is required in such a case, then, it would be taken,” he justified the ordeal suffered by Sharmishta Panoli.
Coincidentally, the same party fielded Saayoni Ghosh during 2021 Vidhan Sabha election and 2024 Lok Sabha election as its candidate.
On 18th February 2015, the now TMC MP tweeted a picture wherein a female character was seen putting a condom over the sacred Hindu symbol of a Shivling. She wrote, “Gods couldn’t have been more useful.” Her tweet maligning Hindu culture was posted on the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivratri, which was observed on 17th February that year.
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari had explained the strategy behind the high-handedness of Kolkata police and the preferential treatment meted out to TMC leaders and their vote bank, despite continuous anti-Hindu rhetoric.
While speaking about the arrest of Sharmishta, Adhikari stated, “The action is only taken against Sanatanis. Everyone here has a licence to abuse Sanatan Dharma…This is appeasement politics.”
“FIR was filed against Mahua Moitra also. She made derogatory comments about Goddess Kali. Was any action taken? What did their (TMC) MP, Saayoni Ghosh, post regarding Mahadev? Was any action taken? There have been so many FIRs against Firhad Hakim, but there has been no action,” Suvendu Adhikari highlighted.
#WATCH | Kolkata | On Instagram Influencer Sharmishta Panoli's arrest, West Bengal assembly LoP and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari says, "FIR was filed against Mahua Moitra also. She made derogatory comments about Goddess Kali. Was any action taken? What did their (TMC) MP, Saayoni… pic.twitter.com/Pc5xDeQU2p
— ANI (@ANI) May 31, 2025
The saga of ‘Muslim appeasement’ of TMC can be traced back to the time it came to power for the first time in West Bengal in 2011. The party began fraudulently adding ‘Muslims’ to the OBC category, a decision which was described by the Calcutta High Court as ‘constitutional fraud.’
The West Bengal government made Urdu the second language in areas of the State of where Urdu speakers were equal to or more than 10% of the population. This was done with the flawed view that Urdu is the de-facto language of the Muslim community.
The TMC administration also introduced ‘imam bhata’ (monthly allowance for Imams and Muezzins) to further strengthen its hold on the Muslim vote bank. But the definitive moment came in 2019 when TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee acknowledged the strategy in public.
During her press conf,Mamata Banerjee today said she will attend an iftar party next week. While saying it she also added, "Since I appease Muslims, I shall attend it 100 times. If a cow yields milk, one must be prepared to face its kick!" Open declaration of her Muslim votebank? pic.twitter.com/ks5h6EnFm3
— Indrajit Kundu | ইন্দ্রজিৎ (@iindrojit) May 25, 2019
Referring to Muslims as ‘milk-yielding cows’, Mamata Banerjee had declared that she is ready to receive ‘kick’ (withstand backlash) from them. Since then, it has been a free run for TMC leaders to do anything and everything to appease the Muslim community.
Be it endorsement of ‘Jihad’ or inaction in the face of violence against Hindu community, TMC has made it clear that its priorities lie in whitewashing the crimes of one community (the latest instance happens to be the Wazahat Khan case).
Armed with its dangerous rhetoric against Sharmishta Panoli, the West Bengal government is endangering the life of the 22-year-old college student. This comes at a time when online Muslim lynch mobs are baying for her blood.
