Toolkit case: Students hold protest in Bengaluru demanding Disha’s release

Several student activists held a protest in Bengaluru while the Coalition for Environmental Justice in India demanded the release of the 21-year-old climate activist who was arrested by Delhi Police in connection with the ‘toolkit’ on farmer protests, which was shared by Greta Thunberg.

The student staged a peaceful demonstration and handed over saplings to the police, demanding the release of Ravi. In a statement, the Coalition for Environmental Justice in India termed Disha’s arrest “extra-judicial abduction” and said Delhi Police had no regard for rule of law.

Meanwhile a Delhi Court on February 14 sent Disha Ravi to police custody for five days.

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

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.