Court declares Punjab influencer’s arrest illegal orders release

Local Court Declares Arrest of Influencer Illegal

A local court on Wednesday criticized the Division number 7 police for not following mandatory arrest procedures. The court declared the arrest of social media influencer Vishal Kapoor illegal and ordered his immediate release.

Details of the Case

The FIR was filed by Sanjay Sharma. He alleged that Kapoor misused a video to threaten and extort money from him. Kapoor was arrested a day earlier on charges of extortion and blackmail. However, the police case fell apart in court due to significant procedural errors.

Advocate Kunal Vohra, Kapoor’s lawyer, told the court that the police did not follow the due process of law. The police sought five days’ remand to recover money allegedly extorted from victims.

Court Findings

During the hearing, the court noted that the police failed to issue the required notice under Section 41(A) of the CrPC after registering the FIR. The investigating officer could not justify the grounds for arrest, leading to sharp remarks from the court. Due to these lapses, the court ordered Kapoor’s release but directed him to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

Allegations Against Kapoor

The FIR against Kapoor was based on Sharma’s complaint. Sharma, a resident of Geeta Nagar, claimed that Kapoor visited his tea stall pretending to be a journalist. When a man at the stall tried to flee, Kapoor allegedly caught him and recorded a video. In the video, the man claimed to have bought drugs from Sharma.

Sharma alleged that Kapoor used this video to blackmail him, falsely accusing him of selling drugs. Kapoor allegedly extorted ₹10,000 from Sharma to delete the video.

Further Allegations

Sharma also claimed that Kapoor intimidated a fish vendor, Ramdhari Sahni, in Bihari Colony and extorted ₹12,400 from him. Despite promises to delete the video, Kapoor allegedly uploaded it on social media later.

On January 6, Kapoor allegedly threatened Sharma again, saying he would have him abducted. Following this, Sharma filed a formal complaint with the police.

Police Action and Court Response

The Division number 7 police registered an FIR under Sections 308(2) (extortion) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and arrested Kapoor. A brief commotion occurred outside the tea stall after the incident.

However, the police action faced severe criticism in court, which legal observers described as “casual and illegal” policing. Inspector Gagandeep Singh, SHO of Division number 7 police station, was unavailable for comment after the court’s remarks.

Previous Judicial Censure

This is not the first instance of the Ludhiana police facing judicial criticism for illegal arrests. On December 21, 2025, a local court ordered the release of Congress leader Inderjit Singh Indi, calling his arrest illegal and highlighting serious procedural violations. Indi, a close associate of former cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, had been arrested by the Division number 8 police on charges of attempted murder and obstructing a municipal corporation employee.