3 ACTIVISTS IN PLOT TO WHIP UP ONLINE FRENZY

Either the Delhi Police loves hyperbole or it has stumbled over an international conspiracy.

It has claimed that three young activists – Bengalurubased Disha Ravi, Bombay High Court lawyer Nikita Jacob and one Shantanu Muluk -- were part of a concerted Khalistani game plan to whip up online frenzy on farmers’ protest before the January 26 tractor rally.

Euphemistically referred to as a ‘digital surgical strike’, by which the Khalistani lobby hoped to embarrass the Indian government, the conspiracy involved creation of a protest toolkit that was mentored by Poetic Justice Foundation, an organisation with extremist leanings, it is claimed.

This toolkit was shared online with Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, whose celeb status was expected to bring the farmers’ protest into international spotlight. The toolkit, the second part of which called for targeting India’s cultural heritage and embassies overseas, was inadvertently made public by Thunberg on February 4, prompting Delhi Police’s investigation into it.

“A Canada-based woman named Puneet contacted Nikita on behalf of the ‘Khalistani’ outfit, Poetic Justice Foundation, and organised a Zoom meeting with the foundation’s founder Mo Dhaliwal. Around 60 people -- including Nikita and Disha -- attended the meeting, where modalities of the toolkit were discussed,” a senior Delhi cyber cell official has claimed.

Disha’s seized phone revealed that she had shared the toolkit with Greta Thunberg via the Telegram app, it is claimed. The WhatsApp chat details accessed by media sources showed that Disha asked Thunberg to “not say anything at all for a while,” warning her of action against them under the

NEW DELHI: The SC on Monday directed the Securities Appellate Tribunal not to insist on NDTV promoters Prannoy Roy and wife Radhika Roy to pay half the fines as a pre-condition to hear appeals against the orders of the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India. They moved SC challenging the demand to deposit 50% of the alleged unlawful gains claimed by SEBI in its order. A bench headed by CJI Bobde said the appeals of the Roys will be be heard by SAT without insisting on deposit. “Appeals are to be heard on March 4. No amount shall be recovered coercively in absence of any deposit for hearing the appeals. The order shall not be treated as precedent,” said the bench, comprising Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.