Background – Page 16 – free them all

We don’t want more Bhima Koregaon bogus conspiracy case / Condemn the NIA’s raid in Andhra-Telangana

03/10/2023 Asha

Condemn the NIA’s raid in Andhra-Telangana to suppress democratic voices critical of war of corporate plunder

06/10/2023

Countercurrrents / by Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization

On 2nd October, 2023, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids across various locations belonging to various democratic and pro-people activists in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The organisations that have been targeted, include, Coordination of Democratic Rights Organizations (CDRO), Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (AP CLC), Chaitanya Mahila Sangam (CMS), Pragatisheela Karmika Samakya (PKS), Patriotic Democratic Movement (PDM), Praja Kala Mandali (PKM), Vasantha Meghum, Virasam (RWA), Indian Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL), Kula Nirmulana Porata Samiti (Struggle Committee for Caste Annihilation; KNPS), Amarula Bandhu Mitrula Sangham (ABMS), Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) and Human Rights Forum (HRF).
Read full statement

We don’t want more Bhima Koregaon bogus conspiracy case in the name of National Security

03/10/2023

Asianspeaks.com / by Campaign Against State Repression (CASR)

“In the overall situation in India, no form of democratic assertion is left untouched by the NIA’s repression in the name of Maoist links, whether they be organizations fighting for the rights of minorities, anti-caste organizations like KNPS, women’s rights organizations like the CMS or even Gandhian or Marxist-Leninist organizations. All forms of democratic assertions are under threat in this current spate of repression…”

Statement By Campaign Against State Repression

CASR STRONGLY CONDEMN THE NIA RAID IN TELENGANA AND ANDHRA PRADESH
In the early hours of 2nd October, 2023, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided 62 different locations in the states of Andhra Pradesh (53) and Telangana (9) as part of their recent string of raids all over the country against democratic rights organizations.
Read full statement

NIA Conducts Coordinated Raids on Rights Activists Across 62 Locations in Andhra, Telangana

03/10/2023

The Wire / Sukanya Shantha

The raids were in connection with the 2021 Munchingiputtu CPI (Maoist) conspiracy case. Devices and literature belonging to functionaries and lawyers of the Indian Association of People’s Lawyer and Human Rights Forum, along with various other rights bodies were seized.
Officials of the National Investigating Agency (NIA) arrived in groups of four and five in 62 locations across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on October 2, in coordinated raids at the homes of human rights activists and researchers.
The raid teams – comprising of NIA officers from Delhi and the local police – arrived between 5.30 am and 6 am on the day, and stayed at the locations till afternoon.
Read more

Also read:
● Chronology Samajhiye: 5 Days, 4 Agencies Under Modi Govt Control Target Opposition, Journalists, Activists (The Wire | Soumashree Sarkar | Oct 6, 2023)
● Blatant use of UAPA by Telangana Police to suppress dissenting voices (Countercurrents / June 2023)
● Telangana Govt to ‘Drop’ UAPA Case Against Prof Haragopal, Sudha Bharadwaj, 150 Others (The Wire / June 2023)

Truth and dare in Bhima Koregaon

02/10/2023 Asha

The Leaflet / by Susan Abraham

The Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad ‘Maoist’ conspiracy case is a grand experiment with truth where the State is daring the people to stand up for justice.
‘TRUTH or dare’ is a mostly verbal party game requiring two or more players. Players are given the choice between answering a question truthfully, or performing a ‘dare’. The premise is simple: Players take turns asking one another ‘truth or dare?’ If they choose truth, they have to answer a question of the asker’s choosing. If they choose dare, the asker dares them to do something rather than make a confession.
Suppose the State were to subject its citizens to a macabre version of this game by cooking up a conspiracy case and locking up people behind bars. Then tell them that in order to win their freedom, they have to choose the ‘truth’ of the conspiracy or the ‘dare’ to dissent.
This is the absurd logic that plays out when you try to make sense of the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case.
Read more

Also read:
● Five years of Bhima Koregaon arrests: CDRO marks ‘black day’ (The Leaflet / Jun 2023)

AI Report: India’s exploitation of terrorism financing assessments to target the civil society

26/09/2023 Asha

Amnesty.org / by Amnesty International

The Indian government has exploited the 2010 and 2013 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) assessment reports to supplement its arsenal of counterterrorism and money laundering laws, many of which are routinely used to target civil society organizations and human rights defenders. The briefing paper analyses the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act and highlights the emblematic cases of the crackdown suffered by journalists, academics, human rights activists, and students under these laws since 2010.
…

IMPACT OF UAPA ON INDIA’S NPO SECTOR
(Page 25) … Sections 17 and 40 of UAPA that relate to terrorist funding have also been arbitrarily invoked against 16 human rights activists (BK16) since 2018, nine of whom continue to be detained without trial in the Bhima Koregaon case…
India’s targeting of activists through the misuse of UAPA’s financial powers demonstrates the broader context of the crackdown on dissent in India. For example, in June 2020, after thorough and detailed research, Amnesty International and Citizen Lab uncovered that at least nine other activists who had been calling for the release of the BK16 activists were targeted through a coordinated spyware campaign. Three of them were also targeted with the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, a commercial product only sold to government entities.
Read full report

● Campaign by Amnesty International: Act now to demand the release of the BK16! (Dec 2022)

Also read:

● Report: UAPA – CRIMINALISING DISSENT AND STATE TERROR (PUCL / Sep 2022)
Download report

Bhima Koregaon Commission Term Expires

26/09/2023 Asha

Graphic by Arun Ferreira & Vernon Gonsalves

Rediff.com / by Jyoti Punwani

If an extension is granted, the Commission’s next hearing will be a long one: From October 16-28, so as to complete the cross-examination of all remaining witnesses.
As the Bhima Koregaon Commission of Inquiry comes close to finishing its hearings, it faces a familiar roadblock: the end of its current term. September 30 is the last day of its functioning, till it gets another extension.
Read more

Also Read:
● Top Investigating Officer Admits Elgar Parishad Event ‘Had No Role’ in Bhima Koregaon Violence (The Wire / Dec 2022)
● India’s Hindu Nationalist Project Relies on Brutal Repression (Jacobinmag / April 2021)

Jharkhand police to probe into Maoist links with Stan Swamy’s ‘Bagaicha’, 63 other frontal organisations

23/09/2023 Asha

The New Indian Express / by Mukesh Ranjan

A delegation of these organisations met Special IG Prabhat Kumar demanding to clear their stand on the issue. They also demanded immediate rejection of any such list if it has been issued.
Jharkhand police has ordered its Special Branch to probe the Maoist links with some of the frontal organizations like Stan Swamy’s ‘Bagaicha,’ ‘Stan Swami Nyay Manch’ and several
others active in the state and submit a report.
Read more

Also read:
● Can Father Stan Swamy’s PIL be the blueprint for justice to thousands of undertrials lodged under UAPA? (The Leaflet / Aug 2023)
● Even after Stan Swamy’s death, the fight to get justice for Jharkhand undertrials is still alive (Scroll.in / Dec 2021)
● Justice for Stan Swamy! Drenched supporters carry on his legacy (SabrangIndia / Jul 2021)
● NIA Opposes Stan Swamy’s Bail; Calls PUCL, Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan ‘Maoist Fronts’ (The Wire / Jan 2021)
● A study of Undertrials in Jharkhand (Sanhati / by Bagaicha Research Team / Feb 2016)

Submission to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom

20/09/2023 Asha

Hrw.org / by Human Rights Watch

“Religious Freedom in India” Submission by Sarah Yager, Washington director, Human Rights Watch
The commission’s focus on religious freedom in India is welcome and timely.
Over the last decade there has been an undeniable increase in the number and frequency of attacks against religious minorities in India, especially Muslims and Christians.
… We have also repeatedly flagged human rights consequences of the government’s 2019 revocation of the constitutional autonomy of India’s only Muslim-majority state, Jammu and Kashmir. Today, four years later, authorities there are still restricting free expression, peaceful assembly, and other basic rights, and regularly shut down the internet. Several journalists and human rights defenders have been arrested on spurious terrorism charges and authorities regularly harass critics, including through use of counterterrorism raids.
Read full submission

Tragedy that people remain in jail with little or no evidence in UAPA cases: Advocate Rebecca John

17/09/2023 Asha

Tragedy that people remain in jail with little or no evidence in UAPA cases: Advocate Rebecca John

17/09/2023

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The senior advocate said that the law has strict bail conditions and allows extension of custody of an accused from 90 to 180 days before chargesheet is filed.
It is tragic that people booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act continue to remain incarcerated on little or no evidence due to the stringent sections in the law, senior advocate Rebecca John said on Saturday, reported Live Law.
John, who has represented activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in the Bhima Koregaon case, made the remarks during a panel discussion held for the launch of the book, Unsealed Covers: A Decade of the Constitution, the Courts and the State by author Gautam Bhatia.
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When UAPA Is Invoked, People Continue To Be Behind Bars Even With Little Or No Evidence, That’s The Real Tragedy: Rebecca John

17/09/2023

Live Law / by Gyanvi Khanna

During a panel discussion held to mark the launch of the book, authored by Gautam Bhatia, ‘Unsealed Covers: A Decade of the Constitution, the Courts, and the State, Senior Advocate Rebecca John made strong observations about the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).
Read more

Video: Discussion On Unsealed Covers By Gautan Bhatia – Justice Muralidahar, Rebecca John, Seema Chishti

en | 1:37:45 | 2023
Watch video

Also read/watch:
● Rebecca John: Supreme Court judgment has far reaching consequences (Rediff.com / Aug 2023)
● Video: Vernon v. State of Maharashtra: A Breakthrough in Bail Jurisprudence under the UAPA? (PUCL India / Aug 2023)

Elgaar Parishad held to defuse social tension between OBCs and Marathas: Ambedkar

17/09/2023 Asha

Elgaar Parishad held to defuse social tension between OBCs and Marathas: Ambedkar

17/09/2023

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

Ambedkar rejected the allegation, saying the first meeting called by retired Justice Sawant and Justice B G Kolse Patil was on the issue of the widening divide between the OBCs and Marathas.
Dalit leader and president of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi Prakash Ambedkar on Saturday told the the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry that the main aim of holding the Elgaar Parishad in Pune was to defuse the social tension created between the Other Backward classes (OBC) and the Marathas on the issue of reservations.
Read more

Top cop Kadam deposes before Koregaon Bhima probe panel

16/09/2023

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

The two-member commission headed by retired High Court Justice J N Patel is probing into the causes that led to the violence in Koregaon Bhima area on January 1, 2018, leaving one dead and several injured.
Senior police officer Ravindra Kadam (now retired) deposed as a witness before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry on Friday.
Read more

Activist ‘confronted’ with article by Anand Teltumbde on Koregaon Bhima battle ‘myth’

15/09/2023

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

The two-member commission, headed by retired high court justice J N Patel, is probing into the causes that led to the violence in Koregaon Bhima on January 1, 2018, that led to the death of one person and left several injured.
Activist Harshali Potdar, who is among the organisers of the ‘Elgaar Parishad’, was questioned about an article written by scholar Anand Teltumbde on the ‘myth’ related to the battle of Koregaon Bhima during her cross-examination before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry on Thursday.
Read more

Also Read:
● Anand Teltumbde Explains the Genesis of His Articles on Bhima-Koregaon (The Wire / March 2023)
● The Myth of Bhima Koregaon Reinforces the Identities It Seeks to Transcend (The Wire | by Anand Teltumbde | Jan 2018)
● Top Investigating Officer Admits Elgar Parishad Event ‘Had No Role’ in Bhima Koregaon Violence (The Wire / Dec 2022)
● Bhima Koregaon Violence: Four Different Theories, but No Justice in Sight (The Wire / Jan 2022)
● “Sambhaji Bhide & Milind Ekbote instigated the Bhima Koregaon Violence,” an accused deposes as witness before Inquiry Commission (LawBeat / Oct 2021)

Indian Democracy Is Facing an Existential Crisis: Progressive Writers’ Association / Repackaged Laws

10/09/2023 Asha

‘Indian Democracy Is Facing an Existential Crisis’: Progressive Writers’ Association

09/09/2023

The Wire / by The Wire Staff | Progressive Writers’ Association

“It is the duty of literature to stand for the downtrodden, the oppressed, the underprivileged, whether an individual or a group.”
Between August 20 and 22, the Progressive Writers’ Association held its 18th annual conference in Jabalpur. At the end of the conference, the PWA adopted a declaration in which it discussed the threats to democracy, equality and secularism in India – ideals with the Association see themselves as guardians of.
„… Increasing discrimination and atrocities on women, tribals and Dalits is the natural consequence of the proud superiority of the Manuwadi ideology of majoritarianism. This text can be read from Una and Hathras to Bhima Koregaon…“
Read the full declaration

Repackaged Laws for Decolonization Game

10/09/2023

News Click / by Suhit K Sen

Official anti-colonial rhetoric lacks substance and creates the basis for a more authoritarian order.
On the eve of the 77th Independence Day this year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah tabled in the Lok Sabha Bills to amend three colonial-era codes on which the criminal justice system rests, spinning this as a belated blow in favour of decolonisation.
… Though the presumption of innocence remains at the heart of the criminal justice system, its perversions remain—not created by the current regime but relentlessly misused by it.
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The many ideas behind the birth of poetry that floats like a butterfly; and stings like a bee

07/09/2023

Hindustan Times / by Ramu Ramanathan

The turning point of Telugu literary history is 3 and 4 July of 1970. Poets who were invited to speak at the seminar/ poets who were not invited to the seminar/ poets who were going to be felicitated/ poets who were expelled/ poets who were going to boycott/ poets who were to be a member of the executive committee/ poets of all ideologies and -isms
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What is Section 207 CrPC, an essential piece of the Bhima Koregaon case puzzle?

31/08/2023 Asha

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

What is the law embedded in Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and why does it keep getting invoked in the Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case?
Sevaral accused in the Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case have claimed that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has inordinately delayed giving them access to copies of important evidence in the case.
The evidence exists in the form of cloned copies of electronic material purportedly recovered from the accused.
Read more

Also Read:
● NIA gets more time to reply to plea for furnishing copies of evidence to the accused (The Leaflet / July 2023)
● Why Courts Are Ignoring Concerns Of Planted Evidence In The Bhima-Koregaon Prosecution (article14 / Jan 2023)
● Incriminating evidence planted in computers: The Trojan solved the Bhima Koregaon case! (Anchored Narratives / Jan 2023)
● Prison-rights activist Rona Wilson’s hard disk contained malware that allowed remote access (The Caravan / March 2020)