Nikita Jacob, Shantanu editors of 'toolkit', attended pro-Khalistani Zoom meeting: Delhi Police

Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police (Cyber) Prem Nath

Advocate Nikita Jacob and activist Shantanu were among "editors" of the toolkit which Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg had shared, the Delhi Police said on February 15.

Non-bailable warrants were issued against Jacob and Shantanu, two days after the Delhi Police arrested 21-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi from Bengaluru.

Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police (Cyber) Prem Nath, while addressing the press conference, defended the action taken against the trio. The preliminary probe has suggested their role in the "toolkit" conspiracy, he said.

"A team reached Mumbai and conducted searches at her (Nikita Jacob) residence on 11th February. She and her associates Shantanu and Disha had created the doc. The email account created by Shantanu is the owner of this doc and all others are its editors," news agency ANI quoted him as saying.

"Disha, Shantanu and Nikita created and edited the toolkit. Disha sent the toolkit to Greta Thunberg through the Telegram app. Disha deleted the WhatsApp group which she created to spread the toolkit," Nath said.

Shantanu and Nikita also attended a virtual meeting called over video-conferencing platform Zoom by pro-Khalistani group Poetic Justice Foundation (PJF) on January 11, days before the Republic Day violence, the police claimed.

"A woman named Puneet who is based in Canada connected these people to the pro-Khalistani Poetic Justice Foundation. On 11th January, Nikita and Shantanu attended a Zoom meeting organised by Poetic Justice Foundation in which modalities were chalked out," Nath said.

The toolkit, which is at the centre of the controversy, was shared by teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg on February 4 as she called for support for the protesting Indian farmers. The tweet entailing the document was shortly deleted by her and another edited toolkit was subsequently shared.

The aim of the toolkit, as stated in the Google document, was to "to enable anyone unfamiliar with the ongoing farmers protests in India to better understand the situation and make decisions on how to support the farmers".

However, the police claimed that content in the toolkit first shared by Greta suggested a ploy to stoke "economic, cultural, social and regional tensions in India".

The Delhi Police had, after taking cognisance of the toolkit, registered a case of sedition and criminal conspiracy against unknown persons. Disha was the first to be arrested, followed by the warrants issued against Jacob and Shantanu.

Jacob has approached the Bombay High Court with an anticipatory bail plea. The matter would be taken up for hearing by the court on February 16.

The police, under criticism following the arrest of Disha, said the "due procedure" was followed by while taking her into custody. She was arrested in the presence of her mother and the State House Officer (SHO), Nath claimed.

The student-activist was produced before the Patiala House court in Delhi on February 14, which sent her to five-day remand. Before the bench, Disha had reportedly broke down, claiming that she "edited only two lines" of the toolkit with the intent to support farmers' stir.