Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Amit Sarkar on Tuesday granted the custody of Wajahat Khan, who had filed a complaint against law student and social media influencer Sharmistha Panoli, to Kolkata Police until June 16.
Police teams from Haryana and Assam were also present in court, each carrying arrest warrants for Khan.
Khan’s counsel, S L Mitra, told the court, “See the complaint. There is a written complaint by the police stating that in the last few days, they found a malicious post on social media. Based on that complaint, an FIR was filed. It is being said that Wajahat Khan was arrested because the police could not locate him and had served notices on him.”
Mitra further submitted, “There is no seizure list, and we have not found anything indicating that any particular section of society was hurt. We understand that Haryana Police and Assam Police have also arrived, but the arrest was made in the Golf Green case, which should be considered. There’s no seizure list or clear information on the posts. The posts in question were made three years ago. He did not receive any summons between June 4 and June 10. We don’t understand how three summonses were issued in just six days. We seek bail under any conditions—he will cooperate with the investigation.”
Following Panoli’s arrest after she was accused of making an objectionable and “communal” social media post, at least five complaints were filed across West Bengal against Khan (30) for allegedly promoting hate speech and hurting religious sentiments on social media. On Monday, Kolkata Police arrested Khan from the Amherst Street area. He was produced in court on Tuesday.
According to police sources, Khan, co-founder of the Rashidi Foundation, has been booked under BNS sections 196(1)(a) (promoting enmity between different groups), 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace), and 353(1)(c) (statements that incite public mischief).
Public Prosecutor Subhasish Bhattacharya told the court, “We have all the supporting documents and the case diary is present in court. His hate speech has spread nationwide, not just in Bengal. We need police custody because he has deleted some posts and we must recover those messages. Further investigation is needed.”
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Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma earlier said that a case was also registered against Khan in Assam for allegedly making “unacceptable comments against Devi Maa Kamakhya.” He said, “A case has been registered against him. Our police will go to West Bengal and we will request the government of West Bengal to hand him over to Assam. But how much the West Bengal government cooperates, only time will tell.”
A senior Kolkata Police officer confirmed that Assam Police personnel had conducted searches for Khan, who had been absconding since the complaints were filed.
Chandan Kumar Shah, representing the Haryana Police, told the court, “Because of the post he made, problems have erupted in many areas. He has insulted Lord Krishna and Kamakhya. We have a warrant and are seeking custody.”
The first complaint against Khan was lodged by the Shri Ram Swabhiman Parishad on June 2. The organization alleged that Khan’s posts promoted enmity between religious groups and could incite public disorder.
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Earlier, on May 30, Kolkata Police had arrested Panoli (22) from Gurgaon. She was granted interim bail last week.