Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Opposition leader in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari hailed the state High Court’s granting of interim bail to law student Sharmistha Panoli on Thursday in Kolkata. Reacting to the development, Adhikari said that the service has been served.
Taking to X, after the Calcutta High Court granted interim bail to Panoli, “Justice has been served today – Sharmistha Panoli, a law student, aged about 22 years, has been released on interim bail by the Hon’ble High Court at Calcutta.”
Panoli was wrongly arrested: Suvendu Adhikari
Pointing out that she was wrongly arrested, the Nandigram MLA called her arrest a police atrocity. “This is a case of police atrocities as an innocent young lady, for using her freedom of speech and expression, has been illegally arrested by Kolkata Police and was sent to judicial custody. This is yet another example of police overzealousness and eagerness to please its political masters,” he added in the same post.
Justice has been served today – Sharmistha Panoli, a law student, aged about 22 years, has been released on interim bail by the Hon’ble High Court at Calcutta .
This is a case of police atrocities as an innocent young lady, for using her freedom of speech and expression, has… pic.twitter.com/ZP8oRlywwv— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) June 5, 2025
During the hearing, the High Court asked Panoli to cooperate with the probe and not to leave the country. It also asked her to submit the bail bond of Rs 10,000, while directing the police to provide her with adequate protection.
In the meantime, BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul and state’s BJP Legal Cell member Sanjukta Samanta filed an FIR against Wazahat Khan, who had earlier filed an FIR against Panoli, at two Police Stations, Ballygunje Police Station in Kolkata and Howrah Police Station. After filing the complaint, Paul said every community must have equal rights and rules.
