Indian police raid home of environmental activists over anti-fossil fuel campaign

Police have raided the home of one of India’s leading environmental activists over claims his campaigning for a treaty to cut the use of fossil fuels was undermining the national interest.Investigators from India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) claim Harjeet Singh and his wife, Jyoti Awasthi, co-founders of Satat Sampada (Nature Forever), were paid almost £500,000 to advocate for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty (FFNPT).The ED is a law enforcement agency that operates under India’s Ministry of Finance and is responsible for enforcing economic laws and investigating financial crimes. In a statement, the agency said it had carried out searches at Singh’s home and Satat Sampada properties “as part of an ongoing investigation into suspicious foreign inward remittances received in the garb of consultancy charges” from climate campaign groups, “which have in turn received huge funds from prior reference category NGOs like Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors”.“However, cross-verification of filings made by the remitters abroad indicates that the funds were actually intended to promote the agenda of the fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty within India,” the agency said.The FFNPT Initiative is an international campaign calling for a treaty to stop exploration for new fossil fuels and to gradually phase out their use. First endorsed by the Pacific Island nations of Vanuatu and Tuvalu, it has the support of 17 national governments, the World Health Organization and the European parliament, as well as a constellation of civil society figures.The ED officers said: “While presented as a climate initiative, its adoption could expose India to legal challenges in international forums like the international court of justice (ICJ) and severely compromise the nation’s energy security and economic development.”They said that in the course of their search they found a large cache of whiskey, above legal limits, at Singh’s home in Delhi and they told local police, who subsequently arrested and then bailed him on Monday night.The agency said it was investigating trips Singh made to Pakistan and Bangladesh last year, including how they were funded.Singh and Aswati said in a statement that they were prevented from sharing details of the case for legal reasons, but added: “We categorically state that the allegations being reported are baseless, biased and misleading.”Singh is a familiar figure at Cop climate negotiations, having worked for more than two decades with international NGOs and climate campaigns including ActionAid and the Climate Action Network.Civil society organisations in India under Narendra Modi have faced severe pressures. Almost 17,000 licences to receive foreign funding have been suspended and a large number of civil society organisations have shut down.According to an unnamed ED officer quoted by the Hindustan Times, the investigation into Singh began on the basis of intelligence received from Cop30, held in Belém, Brazil, last November. Other activists “whose climate campaigns may be inimical to India’s energy security” were also being investigated, another unnamed officer was quoted as saying.The ED accused Singh of running Satat Sampada as a front, publicly projecting itself as a company marketing organic produce while its “primary activity appears to be channelling foreign funds to run narratives furthering the FFNPT cause in India, on behalf of foreign influencer groups”.The agency said the company had been running at a loss until 2021 when payments from campaign groups, registered as “consultancy services” and “agro-product sales”, turned its fortunes around.“The ED suspects misdeclaration and misrepresentation of the nature and purpose of the foreign funds received by SSPL. The agency is investigating the full extent of the suspected violations … and whether the activities funded were against the national interest, specifically India’s energy security,” it said.Singh and Aswati said they started Satat Sampada with their own savings and loans secured on their home in 2016, and that the organisation’s consultancy and management services grew in 2021 after Singh left his full-time employment to focus more on its work.“His work and contributions are well documented across print, digital, television and social media, as well as public platforms,” they said.