Disha’s bail plea: Court to pronounce order on Feb. 23
If highlighting farmers’ protest is sedition, it is better to be in jail: Activist
New Delhi, Feb. 20: There is no evidence to show that the toolkit on farmers’’ protest is responsible for the violence on January 26, activist Disha Ravi’s counsel told a Delhi court which reserved for Tuesday its order on her bail plea.
“If highlighting farmers’ protest globally is sedition, I’m better in jail,” Ms Ravi said through her counsel on Saturday.
Ms Ravi’s counsel was submitting arguments after the Delhi Police opposed her bail plea, alleging she was preparing the toolkit with those advocating Khalistan and was part of a global conspiracy to defame India and create unrest in the country in the garb of farmers’ protest.
“This was not just a toolkit. The real plan was to defame India and create unrest here,” the police said before additional sessions Judge Dharmender Rana.
It alleged that Ms Ravi deleted WhatsApp chats, emails and other evidence and was aware of legal actions she could face.
Why did Disha Ravi cover her track and delete evidence if she did not
commit wrong, the police said, alleging that his shows her guilty mind and sinister design.
Ms Ravi “was part of the Indian chapter of the global conspiracy to defame India and create unrest in the garb of farmers’’ protest,” it alleged, adding she was in touch and preparing and sharing toolkit with those advocating Khalistan
“It shows there was a sinister design behind this toolkit,” the police told the court.
However, Ms Ravi’s lawyer rejected the allegations.
“There is no evidence to link me with Sikhs For Justice, a banned organisation. And even if I (Ravi) meet someone, there is no symbol on him that he is a secessionist,”
the defence counsel said.
“The Delhi police gave permission for the farmers’ march, which they’re claiming that I (Ravi) asked people to join, so how did I become seditious,” the lawyer said in court.
There’s nobody arrested in connection with violence at Red Fort who says he was inspired for same because of the toolkit, Ms Ravi’s counsel claimed, adding there is no evidence to show that the toolkit is responsible for violence during farmers’’ march.
The counsel also questioned the contents of the FIR and asserted that people can have a different point of view on a subject.
“There is an allegation in FIR that Yoga and Chai are being targeted. Is it an offence? We are now reducing the bar that somebody can’t have a point of view different,” Ms Ravi’s lawyer said.
“The talk about alleged genocide in Kashmir has been going on for years. How talking about it suddenly becomes sedition,” the lawyer said.
A trial court had on Friday sent Ms Ravi to judicial custody for three days after her five-day police custody expired.
The Delhi high court on Friday heard Ms Ravi’s plea to restrain police from leaking to the media any probe material concerning the FIR lodged against her.
The high court, in its order, asked media houses to ensure that no leaked investigation material is broadcast as it could affect the probe and directed Delhi Police to abide by its stand on affidavit that it has not leaked nor intends to leak any probe details to the press.
Ms Ravi was arrested by a Cyber Cell team of the Delhi Police from Bengaluru on Saturday and brought to Delhi. She was booked on sedition and other charges.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a supplementary charge sheet against the Jharkhandbased firm Domco Pvt Ltd and its directors namely Binay Prakash, Rita Prakash and their two other firms in connection with its money laundering probe into a coal blocks allocation scam.
In a statement issued here on Saturady, the Central probe agency said, “The supplementary charge sheet was filed before a Delhi court. The charge sheet has been filed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The first charge sheet in this case was filed in December 2018.”
The ED case, under various sections of the PMLA, was filed after studying a CBI FIR against Domco Pvt
Ltd, its promoters and directors, and other unknown persons for submitting “false” information with “dishonest intention” to the authorities concerned while applying for a captive coal block and securing allocation of Lalgarh (North) coal block in West Bokaro coalfields in Jharkhand.
The agency alleged “a pecuniary benefit of `7 crore was obtained by accused Binay Prakash by offering to sell the shares of the company on premium, after allocation of the coal block to Domco Pvt Ltd, Ranchi”.
The ED said, “Binay Prakash placed the proceeds of crime in the banking system and subsequently the amount was siphoned off, routed and invested through the entities owned and controlled by him.”