Cal HC directs state to produce case diary in Sharmistha Panoli arrest
posts bail prayer hearing on June 5
Kolkata, Jun 3 (PTI): The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed the West Bengal government to produce the case diary in connection with the arrest of law student Sharmistha Panoli on June 5, when her interim bail prayer will be heard again.
The vacation bench of Justice Partha Sarathi Mukherjee directed that the Garden Reach police station case in connection with which Panoli was arrested will be investigated, while proceedings in all other FIRs in this regard will remain stayed till further orders.
The court said that the state will ensure that no further case will be registered on the alleged action of Panoli.
The court directed the state to produce the case diary on the next date of hearing on June 5.
Justice Mukherjee observed that one must be careful in making comments in public in a diverse country like India.
Petitioner Panoli's lawyer claimed that no offence is made out in the complaint filed against her for allegedly making some remarks on social media during the Operation Sindoor against Pakistan.
He claimed that there was a war of words on social media between users across India and Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, which was undertaken by India in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed the lives of 26 men, most of whom were tourists.
It was stated that the complaint before the Garden Reach police station in Kolkata claimed that Panoli's comments on social media hurt the religious sentiments of the Muslim community and caused disharmony among people.
He prayed for quashing of the FIR against Panoli and sought grant of bail to her, claiming that no notice was served to her for appearing before the police for investigation into the complaint.
Panoli's lawyer, stating that the complaint does not specify what had been said in her social media comments, claimed that it does not disclose any cognisable offence.
He stated that the complaint was filed on May 15 and two days later, a warrant of arrest was obtained by the police.
He submitted before the court that Panoli's family had also complained to the police that she was under threat and that the alleged offensive post had been taken off from the social media on May 8 after having posted it on May 7 night.
The law student was arrested by the Kolkata Police from Gurugram, and was remanded to judicial custody by a Kolkata court till June 13.
It was claimed by her lawyer that at least four FIRs were filed in different police stations in the state.
Appearing for the state, senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee submitted that the complaint contains cognisable offence and that the alleged post contained an offensive video apart from text.
He stated that Panoli's bail petition was rejected by the magistrate of the lower court and was remanded to judicial custody.
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'Go back to your own country': Indian-origin taxi driver attacked in Dublin
London, Aug 5 (PTI): An Indian-origin taxi driver based in Ireland for over 23 years has become the latest to be targeted in an unprovoked attack in the capital Dublin, with local police (Gardai) launching an investigation into the violent assault.
Lakhvir Singh, in his 40s, told local media that he picked up two young men in their 20s on Friday night and dropped them at Poppintree, in the Ballymun suburb of Dublin.
Upon arriving at the destination, the men are said to have opened the vehicle door and struck him twice on the head with a bottle. As the suspects fled, they reportedly shouted: "Go back to your own country".
"In 10 years I've never seen anything like this happen," Singh told ‘Dublin Live’.
"I'm really scared now and I'm off the road at the moment. It will be very hard to go back. My children are really scared," he said.
A Dublin police spokesperson said Singh was taken to the city's Beaumont Hospital with injuries determined as not life-threatening.
"Gardaí are investigating an assault reported to have occurred in Poppintree, Ballymun, Dublin 11 at approximately 11:45 pm on Friday, 1st August 2025. A man, aged in his 40s, was brought to Beaumont Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injury. Investigations are ongoing," the spokesperson said.
The incident followed an Indian Embassy advisory, also issued on Friday, expressing safety concerns following recent attacks in and around the capital Dublin and urging Indian citizens to take safety precautions.
"There has been an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently,” states the advisory.
“The embassy is in touch with the authorities concerned in Ireland in this regard. At the same time, all Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially at odd hours," the statement reads, adding emergency embassy contact details as 0899423734 and cons.dublin@mea.gov.in.
It came in the wake of a brutal attack on a 40-year-old Indian man at Parkhill Road in the Tallaght suburb of Dublin on July 19, described as “mindless, racist violence” by locals.
The Gardai had opened an investigation into the case and Indian Ambassador to Ireland Akhilesh Mishra was among those who took to social media to express shock over the attack.
“Regarding the recent incident of physical attack on an Indian national that happened in Tallaght, Dublin, the embassy is in touch with the victim and his family. All the requisite assistance is being offered. The embassy is also in touch with the relevant Irish authorities in this regard,” the embassy said in a social media post days after the incident.
A Stand Against Racism protest was also held by the local community in condemnation of what was described as a "vicious racist attack" and to express solidarity with migrants.
Last week, Dr Santosh Yadav took to LinkedIn to post details of a “brutal, unprovoked racist attack”.
The entrepreneur and AI expert stressed that it was not an isolated incident and called for “concrete measures” from the governments of Ireland and India to ensure Indians feel safe to walk the streets of Dublin.
His post revealed that a group of six teenagers attacked him from behind as he walked to his apartment in Dublin.
“This is not an isolated incident. Racist attacks on Indian men and other minorities are surging across Dublin — on buses, in housing estates, and on public streets. Yet, the government is silent. There is no action being taken against these perpetrators. They run free and are emboldened to attack again,” reads Yadav's post.
Fine Gael party Councillor for Tallaght South, Baby Pereppadan, was among those who expressed concern following last month’s attack.
“People need to understand that many Indian people moving to Ireland are here on work permits, to study and work in the healthcare sector or in IT and so on, providing critical skills,” he said.
Another violent anti-Indian attack in Ireland
— Journalist V (@OnTheNewsBeat) August 5, 2025
Taxi driver Lakhvir Singh was attacked with glass bottles while doing his job pic.twitter.com/mtkwhLWISx
