Controversy surrounding arrest of Shamik Adhikary in West Bengal: Was it politically motivated? All we know about arrest of influencer who made anti-TMC reel

Kolkata Police have arrested Shamik Adhikary, a 25-year-old social media influencer from the city, on charges of alleged sexual assault. Adhikary, who is popularly known by his online name “Nonsane,” was picked up from Dum Dum, Kolkata, on Thursday evening, 5th February. Adhikary was first booked on charges of wrongful confinement, assault, and outrage to the modesty of a woman, but later, police framed him on the charge of rape based on the statement given by the 22-year-old victim. He was presented in a court on Friday, 6th February, and has now been remanded to police custody until 16th February. According to the police, the woman had complained that Adhikary had forcibly confined her at his Behala residence from around 9:30 pm on February 2 until 5 pm the following day.  During this time, the woman alleged, she was subjected to physical assault, beaten, and threatened. She, in addition, alleged that Adhikary had touched the woman inappropriately, pulled her clothes, and then subjected her to penetratory sexual assault. The police added that the medico-legal examination of the complainant was conducted at MR Bangur hospital, and a lady police officer recorded her statement, and the section of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita concerning rape was added to the FIR. The injury marks were found on the body of the victim, and she was visibly traumatised, hence the reason she took her time to file the police report, the police told the court. The police further told the court that Adhikary allegedly threatened the woman by sending her pictures of her in a compromising position. The police investigators said that location data collected from tower signals confirmed the presence of both the complainant and the accused at the crime scene during the time mentioned in the complaint. The defence, however, argued that the two were old friends and had known each other for a long time. They claimed there was a misunderstanding that night, but denied that any force was used. The defence also questioned why police custody was required if there was nothing substantial left to investigate. The viral reel that sparked political debate Shamik Adhikary is not just any influencer. With around 420k followers on Instagram and over 400k followers on Facebook, he had built a strong presence online. But what brought him into the political spotlight was a reel he posted from his Instagram account ‘@yournonsane’ on 21st January, just 2 months before the upcoming West Bengal elections. The reel, which went viral and crossed 3 million views with more than 350k likes, sharply criticised the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in the state. In the video, Adhikary portrayed himself as a common man going to cast his vote. He showed a scene where a local TMC “goon” was pressuring voters to vote only for the ruling party and threatening consequences otherwise. As the video continued, flashbacks of incidents that, according to him, reflected the state’s condition followed. Scenes included the 26,000 government teachers who lost their jobs and the emotional toll, as well as the scene depicting a woman walking alone in the middle of the night and being followed by some men. The reel also referred to the RG Kar rape-murder case of a 34-year-old doctor. In that case, a Kolkata court sentenced the convict Sanjay Roy to imprisonment for life and ordered the state government to pay ₹17 lakh as compensation to the victim’s parents, though the victim’s parents claimed that they were seeking justice and not compensation. The video directly targeted the ruling government and came barely two months before elections; many saw its timing as politically sensitive. Soon after it went viral, political reactions started pouring in. TMC claims political links Soon after the reel of Adhikary became viral, several TMC leaders and supporters started propagating that Adhikary was affiliated with the BJP. They claimed that he was not just a content creator, but he was politically motivated. TMC spokesperson Riju Dutta shared a strong statement on social media, calling Adhikary a “BJP YouTuber.” In his post, Dutta said that the same person who had accused the West Bengal government of failing to protect women was now himself booked for outraging the modesty of a woman and physical assault. Breaking BJP YouTuber named Shamik Adhikary popularly known as “Nonsane” is booked for Outraging the Modesty of a Woman & Physical Assault! – He is the same person who made a video against WB Govt. claiming women are not safe in Bengal and said not to vote for TMC !The case… pic.twitter.com/T3p5ly1g2S—