Warrant for 2 more over toolkit, HC hearing today
Non-bailable warrants was issued against two more people for allegedly sharing the “toolkit” related to the farmers’ protest on the social media, the Delhi police said Monday, two days after it arrested climate activist Disha Ravi over the case. Meanwhile, hitting out at the police and other official agencies, scores of social activists and environmentalists called for the immediate release of Ms Ravi, asking the government to stop targeting India’s youth. This Delhi police action also triggered a war of words between the Opposition parties and the ruling BJP.
The Delhi police procured a non-bailable warrant from a local court against lawyer Nikita Jacob and environmental activist Shantanu Muluk over the protest “toolkit” shared by Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg to support the Indian farmers’ protests.
The police claimed Poetic Justice Foundation, the organisation allegedly behind Ms Thunberg’s “toolkit”, had contacted Mumbai-based Ms Jacob to organise a “tweet storm” ahead of the farmers’ Republic Day protests.
Delhi police joint commissioner Prem Nath said at a press conference on Monday that the two, Ms Jacob and Mr Muluk, had attended a Zoom meeting hosted by Poetic Justice Foundation on January 11 to decide the modalities of creating the toolkit. This organisation is suspected to be working for “Khalistani” separatists.
Advocate Nikita Jacob and environmental activist Shantanu Muluk
moved to the Bombay high court on Monday seeking transit anticipatory bail after being named as suspects in the case filed by the Delhi police. Ms Jacob and Mr Muluk, both Maharashtra residents, filed separate pleas, to be heard by the Bombay high court on Tuesday. The Delhi police alleges that the duo was allegedly involved in preparing the document and was in direct touch with “pro-Khalistani elements”.
While Ms Jacob’s plea was filed at the court’s principal seat in Mumbai, Mr Muluk, a resident of Beed district in central Maharashtra, submitted his application before the Aurangabad bench of the
high court. The Opposition parties, meanwhile, accused the Centre of “murdering democracy” by using force against a 21-year-old activist, and said the voice of India cannot be silenced, while the BJP defended the action, saying a crime was a crime no matter at what age. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi led the Opposition offensive after Disha Ravi’s arrest, saying the country will not be silenced. “Your lips are free to speak. Say that the truth is still alive. They are scared, not the country,” he said in a tweet in Hindi. “India will not be silenced,” he added.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said: “Arrest of 21-year-old Disha Ravi is an unprecedented attack on democracy. Supporting farmers is not a crime.”
From the BJP side, Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat tweeted: “If age is the criteria then Param Veer Chakra Second Lt Arun Khetarpal, martyred at 21, is who I am proud of. Not some toolkit propagandists.”
Kavita Krishnan, secretary of All India Progressive Women’s Association, said people like Ms Ravi are India’s best hope as they are concerned over not just themselves, but future generations. “We are not behaving like a democracy right now. If we are going to equate protest with conspiracy and organising protests as conspiracy, then you are not a democracy any more,” she said.
“They should immediately drop this case based upon absolutely flimsy, ridiculous and evil pretexts. A toolkit is not sedition, it is not conspiracy, a toolkit is for protest,” she added.
Rights activist Shabnam Hashmi also questioned the basis of Ms Ravi’s arrest, saying anybody even doing a local campaign prepares a toolkit. “We should look at the Prime Minister’s campaign toolkit. We are crossing the limits of absurdity. We will become a laughingstock internationally,” she said.
At a press conference on Monday, meanwhile, the Delhi police said it was in touch with Google, on whose platform the toolkit document was created, and had posed several questions to the tech giant. “We have received some answers from Google,” the police said.
A senior Delhi police officer said several screenshots of the toolkit openly available on the Internet were investigated, and once it got enough information, the police got search warrants on February 9. “On February 11, a special cell team reached Mumbai and conducted a search at Nikita Jacob’s house. She was not available, but her electronic gadgets were examined,” the officer said.
The email ID created by Shantanu Muluk was the owner of this toolkit document and all the others were its editors, the officer added.
The police said that after Greta Thunberg shared the “toolkit” on Twitter, Disha Ravi asked the Swedish activist to delete her post, fearing action under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). It said that Ms Thunberg deleted the tweet at Ms Ravi’s request and later shared an edited version of the document. The police also claimed the edits were made by Ms Ravi.
Police sources said Ms Ravi wrote to Ms Thunberg on WhatsApp, saying: “Okay can you not tweet the toolkit at all. Can we just not say anything at all for a while. I am gonna talk to lawyers. I am sorry but our names are on it and we can literally get UAPA against us.” Ms Ravi allegedly made the request fearing registration of a case under the stringent UAPA as her name was mentioned in the toolkit, the police sources claimed.