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Month: November 2019

Bhima-Koregaon Inquiry Commission: No sight of final report after 21 months

Bhima-Koregaon Inquiry Commission: No sight of final report after 21 months

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Pic: Solidarity banner, 2018

Hindustan Times / by Shalaka Shinde

Last extension ended on Nov 9; current extension to end in Feb 2020.
After 21 months and four extensions, the two-member Bhima Koregaon Inquiry Commission set up by the previous Devendra Fadnavis Government is nowhere close to submitting its findings into the causes of the caste riots that shook up Maharashtra in January 2018.
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If you are in a university and oppose state policy, you can be targeted: Hany Babu, DU professor

If you are in a university and oppose state policy, you can be targeted: Hany Babu, DU professor

The Caravan / by Shaheen Ahmed & Maya Palit

In the early hours of 10 September 2019, a team of police officials, including personnel from the Pune Police, turned up at the doorstep of Hany Babu MT, an associate professor in the University of Delhi’s English department. … The police informed Babu that the search was conducted in connection with the Elgar Parishad and Bhima Koregaon case. …
Shaheen Ahmed and Maya Palit, the multimedia and books editors at The Caravan, respectively, spoke to Babu about the raid at his house and its aftermath.
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The Preliminary Fair Trial Report: Bhima Koregaon

The Preliminary Fair Trial Report: Bhima Koregaon

American Bar Association / by American Bar Association

In the wake of violent attacks on marginalized communities in India in 2018, the Maharashtra police arrested several activists and lawyers who historically advocated for the rights of these communities. A preliminary review of the judicial records in this case raises serious concerns of procedural irregularities, abuse of process, and violations of fundamental human rights. Several United Nations’ (UN) experts on human rights have expressed concern that the arrests and charges were brought in retaliation for the defendants’ legitimate human rights work.
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Read the full report here (.pdf):

‘Government-backed attacks’: Google warned 500 Indians against hacking

‘Government-backed attacks’: Google warned 500 Indians against hacking

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

The search giant issued over 12,000 warnings to users across the country against hacking state-sponsored attackers from July – Sept 2019.
The statement by Google read, “We’ve had a long-standing policy to send users warnings if we detect that they are the subject of state-sponsored phishing attempts, and have posted periodically about these before.”
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WhatsApp Row: Banal reply to a vital question on snooping

WhatsApp Row: Banal reply to a vital question on snooping


Photo: EFF

Free Press Journal / by Olav Albuquerque

The Central government’s refusal to give a direct reply to former telecom minister and DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran whether the Central government had used the Israeli spy software Pegasus to tap WhatsApp calls and messages leads to the inference that it is not above suspicion. RSS ideologue K N Govindacharya had sought perjury proceedings against WhatsApp for allegedly misleading the Supreme Court that users’ data was fully encrypted and nobody including WhatsApp had the key.
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Prosecution gives cloned copies of ‘seized electronic data’ to three accused

Prosecution gives cloned copies of ‘seized electronic data’ to three accused

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Police have so far booked 23 people and arrested nine persons in connection with the case; all the arrested accused are activists and lawyers.
The nine activists and lawyers arrested in the Elgaar Parishad case were produced before a special court in Pune on Wednesday and three of them were given cloned copies of the data purportedly recovered from the electronic devices seized by the investigators from the accused.
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WhatsApp spyware: House panel agrees to discuss matter after Tharoor’s tie-breaker vote

WhatsApp spyware: House panel agrees to discuss matter after Tharoor’s tie-breaker vote

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

A Parliamentary standing committee on Wednesday decided to hold discussions on the WhatsApp security breach after much dilly-dallying, reported PTI. While the Bharatiya Janata Party members of the panel were against taking up the matter, legislators of parties such as Lok Janshakti Party and YSR Congress Party were keen on a discussion.
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