Disha Ravi arrest: Bengaluru residents demand action against Delhi Police in letter to police chief

70 citizens from Bengaluru have written a memorandum to the Bengaluru Police Commissioner over the arrest of climate activist Disha Ravi and demanded action against the 'illegal' nature of the arrest.

Around 70 Bengaluru residents have written a memorandum to the city's police Commissioner raising questions over the legality of 21-year-old activist Disha Ravi's arrest and asked the state police to take action against the Delhi Police.

Disha Ravi was arrested on Saturday from Bengalurushared by Greta Thunberg. and sent to five days police remand in Delhi on Sunday after she was alleged to be the "key conspirator" behind a Twitter "toolkit" related to the farmers' protest

In their memorandum, the Bengaluru citizens have questioned the constitutional provisions and legal procedures under which Disha Ravi was arrested.

"The arrest was carried out arbitrarily and in complete violation of procedures established both in constitutional and criminal law. The entire incident was a clear and blatant violation of Article 19, 21 and 22 of the Constitution of India... As we will establish in the instant memorandum, all constitutional protections enjoyed by the arrestee were brazenly denied to her and she was taken to Delhi in a wholly unlawful manner," the letter states.

Among the issues raised by the group of citizens about the manner in which Disha Ravi was arrested included:

• Bengaluru Police is yet to release information about the inter-state arrest. "It is pertinent to note that Ms Ravi's family, her legal counsel and the public at large have been kept in the dark about the details and documents relating to the arrest.
• Bengaluru Police did not allow Disha Ravi to contact a lawyer of her choice before being taken to Delhi.
• Disha Ravi was not presented before the magistrate nearest to her site of the arrest. According to Section 80 of the CrPC, a person arrested must be produced before the Executive Magistrate or the Deputy Superintendent of police or the Commissioner of Police within whose jurisdiction the arrest was made.

The signees of the document have asked the Bengaluru Police to publicly furnish details of all correspondence between them and the Delhi Police leading to the arrest of Disha Ravi.

"As demonstrated so far, the Delhi Police has evidently managed to "pick up' a Bangalore resident arbitrarily in an illegal and the Bangalore Police has not been able to adequately assert its authority over its own jurisdiction. The residents of Bengaluru city are deeply disturbed with the precedent this sets," the letter adds.

Their other demands include action against Delhi Police for "flagrant violations of law" as well as against those Bengaluru Police officials "who failed to perform their duty in accordance with the law" and a thorough probe in the matter.

DISHA'S ARREST SPARKS PROTEST

Meanwhile, the All India Students' Association (AISA) on Monday staged a protest in Bengaluru condemning the arrest of Disha Ravi.

Holding placards and wearing black masks, the agitators raised slogans, "Free Disha Ravi".

Their placards read, "Standing for Farmers is not sedition", and "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty".

Several student activists in Bengaluru also held a protest on Sunday while the Coalition for Environmental Justice in India demanded the release of Disha Ravi.

The students staged a peaceful demonstration and handed over saplings to the police, demanding the release of Ravi. In a statement, the Coalition for Environmental Justice in India termed Disha's arrest "extra-judicial abduction" and said Delhi Police had no regard for rule of law.

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