21-yr-old climate activist Disha Ravi arrested in Greta Thunberg 'toolkit' case

New Delhi: Disha Ravi, a 21-year-old climate activist from Bengaluru, was arrested by a team of Delhi police on Saturday in connection with a case filed against the ‘toolkit’ on farmers’ protests that was shared by international teen climate activist Greta Thunberg. The police have accused Disha of “sharing” and "spreading" the ‘toolkit’ related to the farmer protests in Delhi. One source said that the Delhi police have also accused Disha of contributing written material for the toolkit. 

The Delhi police have arrested her under the FIR filed by the cyber-crime unit of the Delhi police on February 4 against the creators of the "toolkit" on farmers' protest under charges of sedition, criminal conspiracy and promoting hatred. This is the first arrest the Delhi police have made in the case.

Disha Ravi, one of the founders of ‘Fridays For Future’ campaign in India, was reportedly ‘picked up’ from her house located within Soladevanahalli police station limits in Bengaluru on Saturday. The Fridays For Future movement began in August 2018, after 15-year-old Greta Thunberg and other young activists sat in front of the Swedish parliament every school day for three weeks, to protest against the lack of action on the climate crisis, according to the website. The group comprises college students and young working professionals who are working towards highlighting the climate crisis and demanding leaders to find solutions. 

Disha Ravi, who graduated from Mount Carmel college in Bengaluru, is currently working as a culinary experience manager with a company that produces plant-based food. 

There has been a lot of debate around the toolkit tweeted by Greta. Many have argued that toolkits, which comprise basic information of any issue, tweet suggestions and information on what hashtags to use and who to tag on social media, are a regular inventory while organising protests online. 

In an interview to Citizens Matters, Disha highlighted the inspiration behind starting the campaign against climate change. “The science on climate change is constantly changing and upgrading. Our new demands are more ambitious than the details listed out by the Paris Agreement, and they need to be too,” she said. 

On February 3, Greta Thunberg had shared a tweet sharing a ‘toolkit’ on how to support the farmers’ protest. Although she deleted the tweet soon, since the dates mentioned in the toolkit mentioned tweeting in January, that evening, Greta posted a new tweet sharing another ‘toolkit’ with updated details. The Delhi police registered an FIR the following day under sections 124A, 120A and 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). 

Greta Thunberg had tweeted in support of the farmers who are protesting near Delhi to repeal the three controversial farm laws.