India / Delhi Police seeks to extend Disha's custody; court reserves order

New Delhi: A Delhi Court on Monday sent climate change activist Disha Ravi, arrested for her alleged involvement in sharing a ‘toolkit’ on social media in connection with the ongoing farmers’ protest against three farm laws, in one-day police custody.

The end of the latest police custody will coincide with the pronouncement of order by another Delhi court on her bail plea on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old was arrested on February 13 and sent in five-day police custody the next day.

After the end of the police custody, on February 19, she was sent to three-day judicial custody and it expired on Monday.

During the hearing, the public prosecutor stated that the Delhi Police required her custodial interrogation to confront her with the co-accused. The other two accused in the case - Shantanu Muluk and Nikita Jacob - have joined the investigation, he stated.

Recently, the Bombay High Court granted protection to both Mr. Muluk and Ms. Jacob from arrest in connection with the case.

Ms. Disha, a permanent resident of Bengaluru, was arrested by a Cyber Cell team of the Delhi Police from Bengaluru and brought to the capital.

According to the Delhi Police, Ms. Ravi is an editor of the “Toolkit Google Doc” and was a key conspirator in the document’s formulation and dissemination. It alleged that she started a WhatsApp group to make the Toolkit doc in collaboration with alleged pro-Khalistani organisation Poetic Justice Foundation to spread disaffection against the Indian state.

The Delhi Police said Ms. Ravi shared the Toolkit doc with climate change activist Greta Thunberg.

Ms. Ravi, in her defence before the court, had said she had just edited two lines in the ‘toolkit’ and that she was in support of the farmers and was influenced by their protests, as farmers provided food.

Last week, the Delhi High Court ordered the police to ensure that there is no leakage of any documents relating to its investigation into the FIR against Ms. Ravi.