A group of 80 writers, activists and academics on Sunday condemned Delhi police’s “sinister” arrest of young climate activist Disha Ravi from Bangalore as an “extra-judicial abduction” and demanded her immediate release.

“The government’s heavy-handedness is clearly focused on terrorising and traumatising these brave young people for speaking truth to power, and amounts to teaching them a lesson,” the statement said.

The signatories include environmentalist Ashish Kothari, Carnatic vocalist and rights activist T.M. Krishna, writer Nityanand Jayaraman, Leo Saldanha of the Bangalore-based Environmental Support Group, and Kavita Krishnan of the All India Progressive Women’s Association.

“A confident government must appreciate this resilience of our youth and hold open dialogues with them across the country. The current actions of the Indian government, instead, amount to gagging democracy itself,” the statement said.

“India should count itself fortunate that conscientious young Indians are actively engaged with shaping their futures in the face of ecological catastrophes. Aware that the government policies are hurting millions and harming the environment, these youngsters are exercising their constitutional rights and performing their fundamental duties by systematically holding the government accountable.”

Police have accused Disha of being an “editor” and “key conspirator” behind a Google Doc toolkit that allegedly provided advice on how to participate in the January 26 Kisan Parade and was shared early this month by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Disha faces sedition and other charges, with the police alleging the toolkit was part of an international conspiracy to defame and wage war against India.

The activists’ statement castigated the Delhi police for their “secretive operation” that violated the “due process of law” and betrayed their “disregard for the rule of law”.

“Delhi police’s actions are all the more sinister because the 21-year-old was taken to Delhi from Bengaluru with no disclosure about her whereabouts, not even to her parents, an action that can be termed extra-judicial abduction,” the statement said.

The Delhi police have stated Disha’s age as 22 years, and an unsigned media release from a “youth-based environmental collective” that condemned the arrest described her as the “daughter of a single mother”.

The activists’ statement said the manner in which Disha was taken away to Delhi was a violation of the due process of law.

“Delhi police’s disregard for the rule of law is no secret. However, this action against an individual without following the due process of law, and in clear violation of norms for arrests and detentions laid down by the Supreme Court, reflects absolute contempt for constitutional principles,” it said.

“The act of criminalising young people for extending solidarity to a struggle that resonates with their own aspirations for a healthy and secure future, strikes as a new low.”

Several Congress leaders too criticised the arrest, Jairam Ramesh calling it “harassment and intimidation”.

“Custodial interrogation of a young woman without any criminal antecedents cannot be justified,” Anand Sharma tweeted.

Former home minister P. Chidambaram said: “The Indian State must be standing on very shaky foundations if Disha Ravi... has become a threat to the nation. A ‘tool kit’ to support the farmers’ protest is more dangerous than the intrusion by Chinese troops into Indian territory! India is becoming the theatre of the absurd and it is sad that the Delhi police have become a tool of the oppressors.”