The Delhi police requested an additional five days in detention to confront Disha with the other two defendants, Nikita and Shantanu.

A Delhi court on Monday sent 22-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi from Bengaluru to one-day police custody after she denied the Delhi police’s request for five days of police custody. Disha has already been in custody for eight days – the first five days in police custody and then three days in custody. It was produced in Delhi’s Patiala House Court after serving three days in prison. Delhi police said they needed to interview the young activist more and requested five more days of detention. A court hearing in Delhi will be issuing bail orders on Tuesday, February 23.

The Additional Prosecutor’s Office (APP), which appeared for the Delhi police, alleged that Disha had shifted the burden of interrogation to other defendants – Nikita Jacob and Shantanu Muluk – in the case. Shantanu and Nikita appeared before police in Delhi on Monday in connection with the case. “I have to confront you with the other defendants, Nikita and Shantanu. You came to Delhi this (Monday) morning, ”the prosecutor told the court. “We still have seven days, as Nikita’s bail ends in three weeks and Shantanu’s in ten days. These two defendants are protected, so we are helpless here, ”added the APP.

“There are 60 to 70 other people who attended the Zoom meeting. We are investigating the case and we need cyber experts to investigate it as well. We can’t close all of the evidence until we confront it, ”the APP said.

Attorney Siddharth Agrawal, who appeared for Disha, asked why Disha had to be taken into custody when the other two were relieved and even appeared for a police investigation. Agarwal told the court that police custody is only warranted when an investigation is otherwise impossible.

“I (Disha) was in Bengaluru. I was not here. These two people (Nikita and Shantanu) are not in custody. The investigation will not be throttled, “the lawyer told the court. “If questioning a defendant is possible while he is in custody, the question of police pre-trial detention should not be promoted,” he added.

Disha’s attorney told the court that the police already had eight days to question her, and 12 paragraphs in the Delhi police’s application to the court seeking further custody are identical to the February 14 police’s application.

“They argue like this is the police’s first pre-trial detention. They argue as if they knew the facts for the first time today, ”lawyer Siddharth Agarwal told the court. “There is only one way to get Disha back into police custody,” he added.

Pointing out that she wasn’t part of the Zoom meeting, Disha’s attorney said, “The problem is they want to talk about everything else and everyone else is saying that she did something wrong.”

Agarwal also argued that the police should not be placed in pre-trial detention by the court without explanation.

“Pretrial detention can only be applied for in cases where there is a need. The judge should not grant pre-trial detention if there is a chance the police will withdraw confessions, ”said Agrawal. “The other two defendants are not in custody and the investigation has not been throttled. Investigations can now also be conducted through virtual conference links, ”said Agrawal.

Previously, on February 19, the same court sentenced Disha to three more days in prison. Disha’s trial ended on Monday and her bail is held for Tuesday.

Disha was arrested by Delhi police on February 13 in connection with an investigation into the “toolkit” or Google document into peasant protests under controversial circumstances. Disha’s lawyers say she was flown to Delhi without pre-trial detention after being detained by Delhi police. It should be noted that toolkits are nothing more than Google Docs or Word Documents, which are often used to organize a social media campaign or to plan protests. A toolkit contains basic information on each topic, tweet suggestions and information about what hashtags to use, who to tag on social media, etc. These documents are regularly used by various individuals and groups, including political parties, to campaign in organize social media and mobilize crowds.

It should be noted that a separate judicial bank in Delhi is hearing their petition for bail and has reserved orders for Tuesday 23rd February. During the hearing on Saturday, Judge Dharmender Rana had questioned the lack of material evidence against Disha during the bail hearing for additional sessions. When SV Raju appeared for the Delhi Additional Solicitor General (ASG), he refused bail for Disha, saying it was not a simple “toolkit”, the “toolkit” preceded the violence that took place in Delhi on January 26th, and it is linked to the Khalistani movement through the Poetic Justice Foundation (PJF), a Canada-based organization. However, the ASG said the PJF is not a banned organization.