NEW DELHI: Delhi Police on Thursday filed an FIR against the creators of the controversial toolkit on farmers protests which was shared by the teen climate activist
Greta Thunberg. The 18-year-old had deleted the online document a few hours after posting it on her Twitter account a day before.
When questioned if Thunberg has been named in the FIR, Delhi Police said that the FIR has been filed against 'unknown persons' and the matter is being further investigated.
Praveer Ranjan, special commissioner of police at a presser in Delhi said the initial probe has revealed that 'toolkit' appears to have been created by a pro-Khalistani organisation.
Documents uploaded on social media has proper action plan about organizing a 'digital strike' on or before January 26 and 'tweet-storms' on January 23, said the Police.
The FIR has been filed under section 124A of the IPC which deals with sedition; section 153A for promoting hatred amongst various communities on social/cultural/religious grounds; sections 153 and 120B for criminal conspiracy to give shape to such a plan.
Notwithstanding the controversy over her toolkit document, Thunberg on Thursday again extended her support to "peaceful protest" by farmers asserting that the hate she received online will not change her stance.
On Wednesday, the Swedish activist had shared a toolkit "for those who want to help" the agitation led by farmers in India against the three new farm laws which were introduced by the central government last year.
The toolkit, essentially a document, listed details on ways to support the protest such as starting a Twitter storm and protesting outside Indian embassies to support farmers protests in Delhi.
Other than Greta, several international celebrities including US pop star Rihanna and US vice-president Kamala Harris' niece had called attention to the plight of the agitating farmers on social media.
However, several Indian celebs and the government had slammed the international celebs' comments.
The ministry of external affairs in an official statement said that a small section of farmers have some reservations about the farm reforms and a proper understanding of the issue is needed before rushing to comment on the agitation.
Bollywood actors Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, cricketers Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar, singer Lata Mangeshkar were among some of the Indian personalities who took to Twitter on Wednesday urging India to stand united.
Farmers protests in IndiaThousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting at Delhi's borders for over two months demanding repeal of the three farm laws and legal guarantee of minimum support price for their crops.
(With inputs from agencies)