Toolkit case: Day after Disha Ravi’s arrest, non-bailable warrants out against two activists

The Delhi Police on Monday issued non-bailable warrants against two activists in connection with the farmers’ ‘toolkit case’. This comes a day after they arrested 21-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi for her alleged involvement in sharing the ‘toolkit’ related to the farmer’s protest.

“Non-bailable warrants were issued against Nikita Jacob and Shantanu. The two are involved in the toolkit matter,” tweeted ANI quoting the Delhi Police. It was not clear what they were accused of.

The police are conducting raids in Mumbai and other places to nab the duo. The Delhi Police had on Sunday claimed that Ravi was an editor of the “toolkit Google doc” and “key conspirator” in the document’s formulation and dissemination.

According to the police, the ‘toolkit’, detailing the farmers’ ongoing agitation,  was aimed at spreading disaffection and ill-will against the government of India and creating disharmony among various social, religious and cultural groups.

The toolkit issue first came to light when climate activist Greta Thunberg shared it from her Twitter account. She later deleted the tweet, but the Delhi Police quickly jumped into action to launch an enquiry into the toolkit.

The ‘toolkit’ claims to ‘enable anyone unfamiliar with the ongoing farmers protests in India to better understand the situation’. It also states that the document is aimed at helping people make decisions on how to support the farmers based on their own analysis.

Also read: All about the farmers’ protest ‘toolkit’ shared by Greta Thunberg

Thunberg tweet was preceded by US pop star Rihanna tweeting a CNN article on February 2 about the farmers’ protest with the caption ‘Why are we not talking about this’. Soon after, the protests also received support from several international stars like Thunberg, former porn star Mia Khalifa, and YouTube content creators Lilly Singh and Amanda Cerny.

Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various border points of Delhi against the three laws — the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act.