Climate activist Harjeet Singh arrested by UP Police after ED raids

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Tuesday arrested climate activist Harjeet Singh, a day after the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at premises linked to him in connection with alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, The Indian Express reported.

Singh was arrested under sections of the Uttar Pradesh Excise Act after a complaint was filed by the state excise department earlier in the day. The complaint was based on information shared by the central agency that a large quantity of liquor was found at his home in Ghaziabad during the raids.

“The said liquor is not valid for sale in the state of UP,” the newspaper quoted the first information report filed in the matter as stating. “..it has been informed that the liquor found at Harjeet Singh’s residence is prima facie more than the capacity determined by the state government for holding liquor.”

A local court later granted bail to Singh.

The searches conducted at three premises in Delhi and Ghaziabad linked to Singh and Satat Sampada Private Limited, a climate advocacy group co-founded by him, were part of a wider probe into the suspected misuse of foreign funds to “run narratives to influence government policies in the energy sector”, the Enforcement Directorate had claimed on Monday.

Satat Sampada Private Limited also runs the non-governmental organisation Satat Sampada Climate Foundation. It was co-founded by Singh and his wife Jyoti Awasthi.

According to Satat Sampada, its work includes sustainable agriculture, promotion of traditional food systems, marketing of organic produce, supporting a transition away from fossil fuels, climate adaptation and resilience and addressing climate impacts and migration.

In a statement on Tuesday, the central agency said that the searches were part of an investigation into “suspicious foreign inward remittances” of more than Rs 6 crore received by Satat Sampada Private Limited between 2021 and 2025.

It added that the funds were received in the “garb of consultancy charges” from foreign entities, including Climate Action Network and Stand.earth. These entities themselves had received funds from non-governmental organisations such as Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, it added.

“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 (FF-NPT) within India,” the Enforcement Directorate said.

The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is an international civil society initiative to limit the expansion of coal, oil and gas and promote a transition to renewable energy. India is not a participant in the campaign.

The central agency claimed that the proposed international treaty was aimed at phasing out fossil fuel production, adding that its adoption could expose India to legal challenges in international forums and “severely compromise” the country’s energy security and economic development.

The statement added that Satat Sampada Private Limited, which describes itself as an agro-based company promoting organic farming and marketing organic produce, was being used as a “front” to channel foreign funds to run narratives furthering the cause of the proposed treaty in India.

This was being done on behalf of “foreign influencer groups”, it added.

The central agency also said that it was investigating Singh’s visit to Pakistan for the “Breathe Pakistan Summit” earlier last year.

His trip to Bangladesh in December during a period of “anti-India protests”, where he delivered a lecture at Sher-e-Bangla University allegedly without an official invitation, and met “various individuals unconnected to the stated purpose” of the visit was also being examined, it added.

Additionally, the funding for these trips was under scrutiny.

The statement further alleged that Singh and Awasthi diverted funds received from foreign non-governmental organisations to their personal accounts for private use.