Disha Ravi, a 21 year-old climate activist from Bengaluru

Toolkit controversy: Delhi Police defends Disha Ravi's arrest; top developments so far

by · Business Today

Delhi Police have claimed that they followed all procedures as per law during Disha Ravi's arrest from Bengaluru

Delhi Police have claimed that the arrest of Disha Ravi, a climate activist from Bengaluru, was in accordance with the law. The Bombay High Court, however, granted a 10-day transit anticipatory bail to Shantanu Muluk, a co-accused in the Greta Thunberg 'toolkit' case along with Disha Ravi and a Mumbai-based lawyer Nikita Jacob.

The Bombay HC's Mumbai bench reserved its verdict on Jacob's bail plea till Wednesday. Her lawyer Mihir Desai argued that the 'toolkit' did not have any reference to the instances of violence that unfolded in the national capital on January 26.

Here are the top developments in the toolkit case so far:

  • Delhi Police have claimed that they followed all procedures as per law during Disha Ravi's arrest from Bengaluru. "Law does not differentiate between a 22-year-old and a 50-year-old. She was produced before a court which sent her to five-day police custody. It is wrong to say there were lapses in the arrest," Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava said.
  • A Delhi court has allowed the 21-year-old activist to speak to her family members over the phone for 15 minutes a day and meet her lawyer for 30 minutes a day.
  • Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharma has also directed the Delhi Police to hand over a copy of the FIR to Disha Ravi and other documents related to her arrest and permitted access to warm clothes, masks, books, etc.
  • Delhi Police has written to the video conferencing platform Zoom and sought details of the participants of the January 11 meeting organised allegedly by a pro-Khalistani outfit, Poetic Justice Foundation (PJF) on preparing a 'toolkit' to back the farmers' agitation.
  • Delhi police are also trying to probe the funding module in the case. Joint Commissioner of Police (Cyber) Prem Nath alleged that the e-mail account created by Pune-based engineer Shantanu Muluk is the owner of this toolkit.
  • Nath said, "Nikita and Shantanu (Muluk) had on January 11 attended a Zoom meeting organized by PFJ in which modalities were decided to create the 'toolkit' titled 'Global Farmer Strike' and 'Global Day of Action, 26 January'."
  • Senior lawyer Mihir Desai, who appeared for Nikita Jacob in the Mumbai High Court, argued that the alleged toolkit was prepared by a group of people and "only spoke of support to the protesting farmers."
  • Advocate Hiten Venegavkar, who appeared for the Delhi Police's cyber cell in the Mumbai High Court, assured the bench that "no prudent officer" will ever arrest a person when his or her application is pending in a court of law.
  • Farmers protesting at Delhi's border areas extended their support to Disha Ravi, a 21-year-old activist who was arrested by Delhi Police for her alleged involvement in creating the toolkit that was shared by Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg on Twitter.
  • Farmer unions like Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) have condemned Disha Ravi's arrest.
  • "We are deeply concerned and anguished about the brazen misuse of police power by the government in its efforts to weaken the ongoing farmers' movement. We condemn the arrest of young environmental activist Disha Ravi without due procedures being followed. SKM demands her immediate unconditional release," SKM said in a media statement.
  • Microblogging site Twitter has sent a notice to Haryana Minister Anil Vij over his tweet on Disha Ravi, which was reported by a German user. "Whoever has seeds of nation's opposition in mind should be completely destroyed, be it Disha Ravi or anyone else," Vij had tweeted in Hindi.

Also read: Delhi court allows fresh clothes, daily time with lawyers, family to Disha Ravi in custody

Also read: Delhi Police writes to Zoom, seeks details of those who attended toolkit meeting ahead of Jan 26