On Monday, a Delhi court remanded climate activist Disha Ravi to one-day police custody in connection with the toolkit case. Earlier this month, Ravi was arrested for allegedly having connections to the “toolkit” related to farmers protests.
The Patiala House Court turned down the Delhi Police’s request for five-day custody of Ravi. The Public Prosecutor sought a five-day extension of Ravi’s police custody while arguing that Ravi has been elusive during interrogation and pushed the blame on the co-accused Shantanu Muluk and Nikita Jacob. As we have reported earlier, the police have accused Ravi, Jacob, and Muluk of collaborating with a pro-Khalistani group named Poetic Justice Foundation for creating the “toolkit” that has alleged links to the January 26, Republic Day tractor rally violence.
Last Friday, the court had sent Ravi to judicial custody for three days after her five-day police custody expired.
On Saturday, during a hearing on a bail plea by Ravi, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the Delhi Police said: “This was not just a toolkit. The real plan was to defame India and create unrest here.” The police also alleged that Ravi deleted her emails and WhatsApp chats as she was aware of legal action that she could face.
Ravi’s consul Siddharth Agarwal while responding to the allegations said that “if highlighting farmers protest globally is sedition, she is better in jail.” He also highlighted that no links are tying the toolkit to the violent agitations.
Agarwal said: “We all have different opinions. You may have a problem with farmers’ protest, I may not. If highlighting protest globally is sedition, I [Ravi] am better in jail. I [defense counsel] also support farmers. But if that’s an offense, let’s all go to jail,”
The judge asked the police their reasoning behind the allegations. The judge said: “What is the evidence collected by you to show the link between her and the January 26 violence? You have argued about her role in the toolkit and she is in touch with the secessionists.”
When the Delhi Police stated that “conspiracy can be seen only through circumstantial evidence,” the judge replied, “So you don’t have any evidence to connect Disha with the January 26 violence?”
The court has reserved the order on Ravi’s bail plea for February 23.
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