Disha Ravi, a 21-year-old student and climate activist from Bengaluru was arrested on Sunday for her alleged role in sharing a "toolkit" on social media related to the farmers' protest.
A Delhi court later sent her to 5-day police custody.
The police have accused the activist of distributing the toolkit which was later used by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
However, the arrest of the young climate activist drew major flak from various nooks and corners on social media as several celebrities and activists condemned the arrest.
Indian Carnatic vocalist T M Krishna took to Twitter and questioned if Disha’s arrest was not a sign of descending into a police state.
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Actor Siddharth who is known for his role in ‘Rang De Basanti’ extended “unconditional solidarity” with Ravi.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh termed the arrest “completely atrocious”.
JNU student union president Aishe Ghosh said, “A 21 yr-old Climate Activist being arrested because of a "scripted story" the Govt. wrote to hide their failure, and just because more voices were uniting in support of our farmers.”
Activist Kavitha Krishnan demanded an immediate release.
Reacting to Delhi court’s order to send Ravi to 5-day custody, senior lawyer Rebecca Mammen John in a Facebook post said, “Shocking abdication of judicial duties".
Ravi's arrest even attracted attention from some academicians like economist Steve Hanke who shared the video of Ravi's arrest.
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The police have accused the activist of distributing the toolkit which was later used by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
While seeking her custody, the police told the court that the activist had allegedly edited the "toolkit" on February 3 and many other people are involved in the matter.
Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan, cited Ajmal Kasab and Burhan Wani in a tweet about Disha Ravi saying, "Age is just a number!"
Ravi's family tweeted using her account and said the "family is disturbed."
