Wajahat Khan, the complainant in a case against social media influencer Sharmistha Panoli, has reportedly gone missing, his father told India Today.
Khan’s father further alleged that the family had been receiving threatening phone calls following Panoli’s arrest.
Panoli, 22, was arrested by the Kolkata Police from Gurugram, Haryana, on May 30, based on a complaint lodged by Khan at the Garden Reach police station. She was accused of promoting communal hatred through a now-deleted video in which she used abusive language and criticised Bollywood celebrities for their silence on Operation Sindoor.
Following her arrest, Panoli was produced before a Kolkata court and remanded in judicial custody till June 13.
The news regarding Khan’s disappearance comes amid reports that multiple complaints have been filed against him in different parts of the country.
A formal complaint against Khan has been lodged with the Kolkata Police by the Shree Ram Swabhiman Parishad. The complaint, dated June 2 and addressed to the Officer-in-Charge of the Garden Reach police station, accuses Khan of making derogatory and inflammatory remarks against the Hindu community on various social media platforms.
The letter urges the police to register an FIR under Sections 196(1)(a), 299, 352, and 353(1)(c) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, as well as Sections 66A and 67 of the Information Technology Act.
It alleges that Khan used terms such as “rapist cultures” and “urine drinkers” to describe Hindus, and that he made vulgar and sexually explicit remarks directed at Hindu deities, religious practices, and festivals.
Meanwhile, a case has also been registered against Khan in Assam in connection with the alleged posts. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that a police team from the state would travel to West Bengal to coordinate efforts to bring Khan to justice.