Calcutta high court on Thursday granted interim bail to influencer Sharmistha Panoli, who was arrested for her alleged controversial social media comments on Operation Sindoor. The now-deleted video allegedly contained “derogatory and disrespectful” comments against a minority community.

While granting bail, the court directed the 22-year-old influencer to furnish a bail bond of Rs 10,000.

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Kolkata police arrested the content creator last week, after being accused of hurting religious sentiments through her ‘communal’ comments. After facing backlash, Panoli, a law student, deleted the post and issued an apology. The court had earlier this week denied bail to the influencer, noting that freedom of speech does not mean one can hurt the sentiments of another person or community.

West Bengal’s opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has described Panoli’s arrest as selective enforcement while alleging that the police acted in uncharacteristic haste.

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Reacting to the bail, West Bengal Opposition Leader, Suvendu Adhikari said that the justice has been served. “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,” the BJP leader wrote on X, adding that the case is yet another example of “police overzealousness and eagerness to please its political masters.”

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

The lawyer, representing Panoli, claimed that no offense was made in the complaint filed against her for allegedly making some remarks on social media during the Operation Sindoor against Pakistan.

However, the court had also directed the West Bengal government to produce the case diary on June 5.