Condemn the Arrest of Bengaluru Environment Activist Disha Ravi by Delhi Police!

Expose and Resist Modi-Shah “Toolkit” to Intimidate and Scuttle Pro-Democratic Voices!

Continuing its’ assault on pro-democracy activists and dissenting voices, Delhi Police in a arbitrary and clandestine way picked up an environmental activist Disha Ravi from her house in Bengaluru. The arrests come after Delhi Police has filed an FIR against unknown people for sharing a “toolkit” which offered information on how organize democratic protests. This FIR and the slapping of conspiracy charge came after many international human right activists, artists and concerned people’s representatives from various countries raised concerned about the violation of human rights of protesting farmers. Climate change student activist Greta Thunberg shared a “toolkit” which provided details on how to organize protests in favour of protesting farmers.

The BJP-RSS has been using this toolkit bogey to intimidate and witch hunt students, intellectuals, teachers, activists and people raising their voice to defend democracy and people’s right. Just like they tried to malign students’ movements in the recent past, they are now trying their best to come up with new ways to malign farmers’ protest and also clamp down on voices standing with the farmers’ protest. Most of these arrests have been made using age old draconian laws. In fact, the Delhi Police failed to provide the FIR copy, failed to produce her before a jurisdictional magistrate and blatantly flouted the rule of law. This act of the police of picking up a person in secrecy without following proper procedures exposes the dictatorial functioning of police force. This clearly shows complete disregard for the rule of law.

AISA demands that Disha Ravi be released immediately and the police must drop all fabricated charges against her. If there is any conspiracy, it is only the conspiracy of the RSS-BJP Govt to malign the ongoing farmers protest using the tools of police force, arrest, draconian laws, to hand over the agricultural sector to Adani-Ambani.