Background – Page 25 – free them all

Koregaon Bhima panel to call Mumbai police JCP to depose as witness / Panel visits locations seen in footage of violence

05/02/2022 Asha

Inquiry panel visits locations seen in footage of violence

06/02/2022

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

The two-member commission, headed by retired High Court Justice J N Patel and comprising former chief secretary Sumit Malik, is probing factors that led to the Koregaon Bhima violence of January 1, 2018, in which one person died and several others were injured.
Members of the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry on Saturday visited the Jaystambh at Perne village along with various sites in Vadhu Budruk and Koregaon Bhima in Pune district.
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Koregaon Bhima panel to call Mumbai police JCP to depose as witness

05/02/2022

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

Nangare Patil was the special inspector general, Kolhapur Range, at the time of the incident
Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry will call IPS officer Vishwas Nangare Patil to depose as a witness in the case, the panel’s lawyer has said….
Lawyers B G Bansode, Kiran Channe and Rahul Makhare submitted an application before the commission seeking a probe into an audio clip, which purportedly dates back to January 1, 2018. The lawyers claim it was a mobile phone conversation between a police officer and a Shiv Sena office bearer held in a traffic jam while going to Pune from Aurangabad.
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Also read:
● Bhima Koregaon: Is Milind Ekbote Being Protected? (Rediff.com / Feb 2022)
● Sambhaji Bhide & Milind Ekbote instigated the Bhima Koregaon Violence,” an accused deposes as witness before Inquiry Commission (LawBeat / Oct 2021)

Bhima Koregaon: Is Milind Ekbote Being Protected? / Commission of Inquiry hearings

03/02/2022 Asha

Bhima Koregaon: Is Milind Ekbote Being Protected?

03/02/2022

Rediff.com / by Jyoti Punwani

The former BJP corporator was named by a villager in a police complaint made three days before the January 1, 2018 violence at Bhima Koregaon.
Yet, the police did not include his name in the FIR.
Jyoti Punwani reports.
Once again, Milind Ekbote’s name cropped up in the hearings of the Bhima Koregaon Commission of Inquiry.
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Ekbote named, not chargesheeted in case of desecration in 2017: ACP Galande

03/02/2022

Hindustan Times / by Shalaka Shinde

Assistant commissioner of police Ramesh Galande, 57 – who was in charge of the Shikrapur police station in 2018 when the Bhima-Koregaon riots took place – deposed before the Bhima-Koregaon Inquiry Commission on Thursday.
During his deposition, it was established that the tension in the Vadhu Budrukh region began after installing a board mentioning Govind Gopal Gaikwad (Mahar) while the name of Milind Ekbote of the Samasta Hindu Aghadi was dropped from the FIR as he was found to have no connection with vandalising the board.
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Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry hearings: IPS officer deposes before panel; some lawyers seek more time to examine videos of violence

03/02/2022

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

The two-member commission is investigating the factors that led to the violence, in which one person died and several others were injured. Satpute’s chief examination was recorded by commission’s lawyer Aashish Satpute.
IPS officer Tejaswi Satpute, the superintendent of Solapur Rural Police, deposed as a witness before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry on Wednesday. On, January 1, 2018, when violence broke out in Koregaon Bhima, she was the additional SP (Pune division) of Pune Rural Police.
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Also read:
● Sambhaji Bhide & Milind Ekbote instigated the Bhima Koregaon Violence,” an accused deposes as witness before Inquiry Commission (LawBeat / Oct 2021)
● Proposal to Chargesheet Hindutva Leaders in Bhima Koregaon Violence (Gauri Lankesh News / Jan 2021)
● Casting a Veil – What we miss by ignoring Maratha caste politics in the Bhima Koregaon case (The Caravan / Dec 2020)

Pegasus scandal shows how lawless India’s ‘lawful interception’ has become / India’s 2017 Pegasus Deal

02/02/2022 Asha

Pegasus scandal shows how lawless India’s ‘lawful interception’ has become

02/02/2022

The Print / by Praveen Swami

Many democracies understand the need for lawful surveillance against serious crimes. Few provide the executive such sweeping powers like India does.
At once unconstitutional, ungenerous and un-English,” raged the London Times in summer of 1844, as the world’s first great surveillance scandal exploded inside the halls of parliament…
Technical evidence suggesting at least some of the Bhima Koregaon case was planted on suspects—using a relatively crude and unsophisticated malware called Netwire—shows what happens when intelligence services operate unregulated and without accountability.
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Transcript: India’s 2017 Pegasus Deal With Israel Involved Top Intel Leaders

02/02/2022

The Wire / by Siddharth Varadarajan

Israeli investigative reporter Ronen Bergman speaks at length about the explosive story he co-authored in the New York Times on the sale of Pegasus spyware around the world, including to India.
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Also read:
● Bhima Koregaon accused and their counsel write to SC’s Pegasus technical committee alleging snooping (The Leaflet/ Jan 2022)
● Leaked Data Shows Surveillance Net in Elgar Parishad Case May Have Crossed a Line (The Wire / July 2021)

Ex-Pune police chief submits affidavit to Bhima Koregaon commission; hearings from Jan 31

30/01/2022 Asha

Ex-Pune police chief submits affidavit to Bhima Koregaon commission; hearings from Jan 31

30/01/2022

Hindustan Times / by Shalaka Shinde

Senior IPS officer and former police commissioner Rashmi Shukla has claimed in her affidavit submitted before the Bhima Koregaon inquiry commission that the city police handled the situation “tactfully” during the 2018 Bhima Koregaon clashes, preventing a major untoward incident in the city.
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Pune Police took all possible measures to contain violence: IPS officer to Inquiry Commission

30/01/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The former Commissioner of Pune Police stated in her affidavit that because the police handled the situation, there was neither any loss of human life or major untoward incident during the Koregaon Bhima riots in Pune.
Senior IPS officer Rashmi Shukla who was Commissioner of Pune Police, has filed an affidavit before the Bhima Koregaon Inquiry Commission probing the violent clashes between Dalit and Maratha groups on December 31, 2017 around the time of the Elgar Parishad event.
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Also read:
● “Sambhaji Bhide & Milind Ekbote instigated the Bhima Koregaon Violence,” an accused deposes as witness before Inquiry Commission (LawBeat / Oct 2021)

UAPA and the many victims of the Republic of India

29/01/2022 Asha

AskIndiaWhy / by AskIndiaWhy

January 26 is India’s Republic Day, when the government will conduct an elaborate parade under the vanity of national pride as the world’s largest democracy — supposedly guaranteeing liberty, equality and freedom of speech.
India’s Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) was established in 1967 with the purpose of centralising political power to prevent “unlawful activities” and upkeeping the integrity of India’s sovereign democratic status.
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Also watch/read:
● Video: International Solidarity Statement, 73rd Republic Day of India (InSAF / Jan 2022)
● On R-Day, Diaspora Groups Call for Release of Anti-CAA Protestors Charged Under UAPA (The Wire / Jan 2022)

Pegasus Spyware: Fresh plea in Supreme Court seeks probe into 2017 India-Israel defence deal

29/01/2022 Asha

Pegasus case: Fresh plea in Supreme Court seeks probe into 2017 India-Israel defence deal

20/01/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The applicant has said the reported agreement with Israel was not approved by Parliament.
Advocate ML Sharma has filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking an investigation after The New York Times on January 28 said that the Narendra Modi-led government had purchased the Pegasus spyware from Israel in 2017, Live Law reported on Sunday.
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Pegasus Spyware: Supreme Court Urged To Take Cognisance Of New York Times Report Alleging Pegasus Purchase By Indian Government

30/01/2022

Live Law / by Srishti Ojha

While referring to the recent New York Times report that in July 2017 Modi government purchased Pegasus from an Israeli firm, Advocate ML Sharma has moved the Supreme Court of India seeking probe into the alleged Pegasus purchase.
Sharma, who is also one of the petitioners in the Pegasus case before the Supreme Court, has filed an application seeking directions to register F.I.R for investigation to recover public money paid for the impugned deal.
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India Bought Pegasus as Part of Larger $2 Billion Deal with Israel in 2017, Claims ‘NYT’ Report

28/01/2022

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

The media report notes that Pegasus was the ‘centrepiece’ of a 2017 deal between India and Israel.
India bought controversial spyware tool Pegasus in 2017 as part of a larger arms deal with Israel, according to a new report published by The New York Times.
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India’s government unleashing controversial UAPA as means of silencing civil rights activists

27/01/2022 Asha

Daily Maverick / By Anandaroop Sen

In this interview, Anandaroop Sen, a senior lecturer in history at the University of Cape Town, talks to Kavita Srivastava, the President of the Rajasthan Chapter of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties and one of India’s most respected activists, about the clampdown and what it represents for the future of human rights in India.

Anandaroop Sen (AS): Could you begin by giving the context in which the 16 Indian academics, activists, lawyers, popularly known as the Bhima Koregaon 16 (BK 16) have been imprisoned by the Narendra Modi-led BJP government for the last three years.
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UAPA And The Authoritarian Tendencies Of A Democratic Government

25/01/2022 Asha

Youthkiawaaz / by Salim Usman

The Modi government has, over the years, used the UAPA to counter any narrative that goes against their views and uses the law to arbitrarily arrest those who have spoken against them.
The unprecedented rise in countries exhibiting authoritarian tendencies throughout the world in the past few years, and the large number of human rights violations committed by state actors, is a matter of concern not just for the particular country’s political, social and economic circles but also for the international political community.
… perhaps the starkest example of the weaponisation of the UAPA was its use against those accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case.
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CJP demands action against Milind Ekbote, main accused in the Bhima Koregaon riots

22/01/2022 Asha

CJP / by CJP Team

The plea highlights the many cases of rioting and hate crimes pending against Ekbote.
JP has sent a plea to the Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil seeking stringent action against Milind Ekbote, a repeat hate offender and main accused in the Bhima Koregaon riots of January 2018. On January 12, 2022, Ekbote was granted bail in a case of hate speech by a Sessions Court in Pune despite being a repeated offender in hate crimes.
Read more
Read CJP plea

Also read:
● “Sambhaji Bhide & Milind Ekbote instigated the Bhima Koregaon Violence,” an accused deposes as witness before Inquiry Commission (LawBeat / Oct 2021)
● India’s Hindu Nationalist Project Relies on Brutal Repression (Jacobinmag / April 2021)

PEGASUS SNOOPING: Bhima Koregaon’s Accused Write To SC’s Technical Committee

19/01/2022 Asha

PEGASUS SNOOPING: Bhima Koregaon’s Accused Write To SC’s Technical Committee

19/01/2022

Law Street Journal / by Komal Kinger

Pegasus is a type of spyware created by the Israeli cyberarms firm NSO Group that can be installed secretly on mobile phones (and other divices) running most versions of iOS and Android.
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Elgar Parishad Accused, Their Lawyers Write to SC’s Committee on Pegasus Spyware Targeting

10/01/2022

The Wire / Sukanya Shantha

On January 3, the committee issued a public notice urging people to contact them in case they have reasons to believe that their phones were compromised using the malware.
Several human rights defenders and academics implicated in the Elgar Parishad case and their lawyers have sent their representation to the Supreme Court-appointed Technical Committee alleging that their phones were infected by the vicious Pegasus malware.
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Bhima Koregaon accused and their counsel write to SC’s Pegasus technical committee alleging snooping

08/01/2022

The Leaflet / by The Leaflet

On January 3, the Supreme Court-appointed Technical Committee (TC) to investigate the snooping allegations using Pegasus spyware had issued a public notice urging citizens to contact it if they felt that their mobile device had been infected…
The Leaflet learns that at least four accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, and their counsel, Nihalsing B. Rathod, have written to the committee separately alleging that their mobile devices had been infected with the Pegasus malware.
Read more

Also read:
● Leaked Data Shows Surveillance Net in Elgar Parishad Case May Have Crossed a Line (The Wire / July 2021)