BENGALURU/NEW DELHI: After arresting climate activist Disha Ravi (21) from Bengaluru, the Delhi Police on Monday obtained non-bailable arrest warrants against Bombay High Court lawyer Nikita Jacob and activist Shantanu.
According to sources, the Delhi police allege that Jacob was involved in creating the controversial ‘toolkit’ that was reportedly tweeted by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg in support of the ongoing farmers’ protest against the three farm laws.
The police have charged Disha with being the 'key conspirator' and editing the “toolkit Google doc” in the document’s formulation and dissemination. The police have alleged that the toolkit in question was created by a “pro-Khalistani" organisation, Poetic Justice Foundation to spread disaffection against the Indian State", police alleged.
Meanwhile, some student organisations and activist groups in Bengaluru are planning to hold protests on Monday evening against the unlawful arrest of Disha at the Mysore Bank circle in the city.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, advocate Vinay K Srinivasa said, "There are several irregularities in the manner in which the Delhi police have arrested Disha. Why was Bengaluru police not informed? Why was she not produced before a local court for her transit remand or not allowed to speak to her lawyer in Bengaluru. Why was her family not informed about her arrest."
How did Delhi Police land in Bengaluru
Ravi was picked up from her Bengaluru residence by the special cybercrime cell of the Delhi Police, who had filed an FIR on February 4 against unknown persons for sharing a toolkit on farmer protests in the national capital on social media sites, aiming to spread ‘disaffection against the Government of India’.
Last week, the Delhi Police had approached Google, seeking registration details and activity logs of accounts through which the ‘toolkit’ was created and uploaded on social media platforms.
What is the 'toolkit'
The toolkit mentions two e-mail IDs, one Instagram account and one Uniform Resource Locator (URL), whose details the police have sought from respective platforms. “The action plan delineated in this toolkit and the unfolding of events including the violence of January 26 reveal a copycat execution of the action plan. It is definitely the intention of the creators of this toolkit to create disharmony among various social, religious and cultural groups and create disaffection and encourage ill-will against the government.
The ‘toolkit’ exposes the conspiracy by an organised overseas network to instigate the farmer protests,” Special Commissioner (Crime Branch), Delhi Police, Praveer Ranjan said. Several social media accounts and websites are under scanner, the police said. Farmers have been protesting at Delhi-Haryana and Delhi-Uttar Pradesh borders since November 26 against the three contentious farm laws.
The new warrants have come at a time when the arrest of Bengaluru-based Disha Ravi on conspiracy and sedition charges, have sparked outrage. Ravi was produced in a Delhi court on Sunday in the absence of her lawyers and sent to five-day police custody.