Greta Thunberg toolkit case: Court sends 21-year-old climate activist to 5-day custody

PTI, Feb 14, 2021, 5:30 PM IST

Image posted on Facebook

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Sunday sent a 21-year-old climate activist to five days police custody in connection with allegedly being involved in sharing a “toolkit” on social media related to the farmers’ protest.

Disha Ravi, arrested by a Cyber Cell team of the Delhi Police from Bengaluru on Saturday, was produced before a court here and police sought her seven days’ custody.

The police said her custody was required to probe an alleged larger conspiracy against the government of India and to ascertain her alleged role relating to the Khalistan movement.

During the hearing, Ravi broke down inside the courtroom and told the judge that she had edited only two lines and that she wanted to support the farmers’ protest.

Duty Magistrate Dev Saroha allowed the Delhi Police to quiz Ravi for five days.

While seeking her custody, the police told the court that the activist had allegedly edited the “toolkit” on February 3 and many other people are involved in the matter.

It also informed the court that they have recovered the mobile phone of the activist.

A “toolkit” is a document created to explain any issue. It also provides information on what one needs to do to address the issue. This might include information about petitions, details about protests and mass movements.

Earlier, the Delhi Police had asked Google and some social media giants to provide information about email id, URLs and certain social media accounts related to the creators of the “toolkit” shared by Thunberg and others on Twitter in connection with the farmers’ protest.

The Cyber Cell had lodged an FIR against “pro-Khalistan” creators of the “toolkit” for waging a “social, cultural and economic war against the government of India”.

The case against unnamed persons was registered on charges of criminal conspiracy, sedition and various other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The “toolkit” was aimed at spreading disaffection and ill-will against the government of India and creating disharmony among various social, religious and cultural groups, the police had claimed.