Wajahat Khan the man whose complaint led to the controversial arrest of social media influencer and law student Sharmishta Panoli has allegedly gone missing, even as multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) have been filed against him across India for inflammatory remarks targeting Hindus.
Khan, 30, a resident of Kolkata, had filed a police complaint at the Garden Reach Police Station, based on which Panoli was arrested on May 30 by a team from Kolkata Police in Gurugram, Haryana. The 22-year-old law student had posted a now-deleted video critical of Bollywood’s silence during “Operation Sindoor,” a term used by netizens for the recent India-Pakistan war, in which she allegedly used abusive language perceived as communal.
Panoli’s arrest triggered political uproar, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) questioning the need for action despite the fact that Panoli had already deleted the video and issued an apology. “Targeting a young woman for expressing dissent, especially when she has retracted and apologised, reeks of selective outrage and legal overreach,” said a BJP spokesperson.
Now, just days after the arrest, Khan himself is reportedly missing. His father, Saadat Khan, speaking to Aaj Tak, revealed that Wajahat had not been seen since June 1 night and that the family has been inundated with threatening phone calls.
“My son is innocent and secular. He cannot insult Hinduism,” Saadat claimed, suggesting the possibility that Wajahat’s social media accounts were hacked. He added that Wajahat had been mentally disturbed by the barrage of hate messages and threats directed at him following Panoli’s arrest. “Even I have been abused and threatened,” Saadat said.
While Wajahat’s whereabouts remain unknown, the controversy surrounding him has deepened with several new complaints being filed against him.
On June 2, the Shree Ram Swabhiman Parishad lodged a formal complaint with the Officer-in-Charge of Garden Reach Police Station in Kolkata. The complaint alleges that Wajahat Khan—also known online as Wajahat Khan Qadri Rashidi made inflammatory, sexually explicit, and derogatory remarks against the Hindu community, including deities and traditions.
Terms such as “rapist cultures” and “urine drinkers” were allegedly used by Khan to refer to Hindus in posts flagged by the Parishad. The complaint has invoked sections 196(1)(a), 299, 352, and 353(1)(c) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Sections 66A and 67 of the IT Act, accusing Khan of inciting communal hatred and insulting religion.
A similar complaint has also been filed in Delhi by an advocate, who has approached the Cyber Crime Unit and the Delhi Police, accusing Khan of promoting enmity between religious groups and using offensive language on public platforms.
The matter has now taken on inter-state dimensions. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on June 2, announced that a case has been registered in the state against Wajahat Khan for allegedly insulting Hindu deities, including Ma Kamakhya a revered form of the feminine divine worshipped widely in Assam.
Sarma confirmed that the Assam government has formally approached West Bengal for Khan’s custody. “We’ve taken strong note of this blasphemous insult to our revered Ma Kamakhya. It’s now up to West Bengal to show whether they will cooperate in such matters or not,” said Sarma. “Time alone will tell.”
This case reveals a growing discontent with selective outrage and uneven legal action in communal matters. While Panoli’s arrest was swift and widely publicised, action against Khan—despite the presence of far more inflammatory and vulgar content directed at an entire religious community appears to be lagging.
Legal observers note that invoking cyber laws and blasphemy charges selectively deepens communal fault lines. “There must be parity in law enforcement. If Panoli is arrested for a speech critical of silence on war crimes, how can vile and hateful attacks on Hindu traditions and deities go unchecked?” asked senior lawyer Anirban Mitra.
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