Prakash Karat demands immediate release of activist Disha Ravi

By Amit Kumar
New Delhi [India], February 15 (ANI): Senior CPI-M leader and the party politburo member Prakash Karat on Monday slammed the Narendra Modi government on the arrest of activist Disha Ravi and alleged that Delhi Police is acting under the direction of the Union Home Minister, adding that such prosecution of a young activist must stop.
Speaking to ANI, Karat said that the arrest of Disha Ravi on charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy is an atrocious act by the Delhi Police. "She is a young environmental activist and what she has done is to extend support to the farmers. The toolkit which is supposed to be forwarded on the internet is nothing but a guideline on how to mobilise support for the farmers," he said.
"The Modi government has become paranoid. It is not willing to tolerate any activism or dissent. So we demand that Disha Ravi be forthwith released and the charges against her withdrawn. The Delhi Police is acting under the directions of the Union Home Minister. Such prosecution of a young activist must immediately stop," said Karat.
The senior CPI-M leader further said, "Who is Greta? She is a well-known environmental activist, just like Disha is. The "toolkit" explains how support can be mobilised for farmers, what is wrong with it? As I said, this is a part of a democratic movement or activity. How do you mobilise support for the farmers? The allegations are totally baseless."
21-year-old "climate activist" Disha Ravi has been sent to five days police custody for allegedly editing and disseminating the "toolkit" on social media. She was arrested by the Delhi Police cyber cell from Bengaluru on Saturday for her alleged role in spreading a "toolkit" related to the farmers' protest.
A Delhi court on Sunday remanded Disha to five days of police custody following her arrest in connection with allegedly spreading a "toolkit" related to the farmers' protest. Duty Metropolitan Magistrate Dev Saroha of Patiala House Courts Complex allowed Delhi Police to quiz Ravi for five days. She was arrested on Saturday.
Last week, the Delhi Police sent a communication to Google seeking registration details and activity log of the account through which a "toolkit" related to the farmers' protest was created and uploaded on the social media platform.
Two e-mail IDs, one Instagram account, and one Uniform Resource Locator (URL) were mentioned in the toolkit and police have asked for details from the respective platforms.
The police had registered an FIR against unidentified persons in connection with the creators of the "toolkit'. (ANI)