‘Not targeting patriotism’: Kolkata Police’s full statement on lawyer arrest after int’l backlash

Kolkata police on Sunday issued a detailed defence of its decision to arrest 22-year-old law student and influencer Sharmishtha Panoli, who has been accused of stoking communal hatred through a social media video. Facing flak from several quarters over the move, the force insisted that Panoli’s arrest had nothing to do with her patriotism or anti-Pakistan stance, but stemmed from the use of abusive and divisive language that, it said, crossed legal boundaries.