Wajahat Khan, on whose complaint the Kolkata police arrested social media influencer Sharmishta Panoli for speaking provocative and insulting remarks on Prophet Muhammad and Islam, has allegedly gone missing after multiple FIRs were registered against him.
On June 2, right-wing organisation, Shree Ram Swabhiman Parishad, registered a complaint at the Garden Reach police station, alleging the 30-year-old made derogatory remarks against Hindu religious deities in response to Sharmishta’s post, with an intent to “promote enmity between religious groups and potentially incite public unrest.”
Khan has been charged under sections 196(1)(a) (promoting enemity between different groups), 299 (deliberate and malicious attempts to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting religion or religious beliefs), 352 (intential insult), and 353(1)(c) (public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhitha (BNA), as well as Sections 66A and 67 of the Information Technology Act.
On June 3, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa informed on his X handle that a case was registered against Khan for allegedly making “unacceptable comments against Devi Maa Kamakhya.” He stated that Khan will be brought to the state and punished for his remarks.
While Sharmishta has been granted an interim bail by the Calcutta High Court on Thursday, Khan’s family is worried about his whereabouts. His father told the media that Khan’s phone has been switched off since Sunday.
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Khan was last seen in his locality on June 1. “Since then, his whereabouts remain unknown, and no missing person report has been filed by his family. Both Delhi Police and Assam Police are actively searching for him,” a senior police officer told Indian Express.
At least five complaints have been filed against the 30-year-old in West Bengal. Defending his son, Khan’s father described him as a secular individual and suggested that the controversial posts could be the result of a hacked account, firmly denying any intent to incite religious hatred.
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