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Witness Accuses Sambhaji Bhide & Milind Ekbote Of Instigating Bhima Koregaon Riots

Witness Accuses Sambhaji Bhide & Milind Ekbote Of Instigating Bhima Koregaon Riots

Witness Before Probe Panel Accuses Sambhaji Bhide & Milind Ekbote Of Instigating Bhima Koregaon Riots

01/10/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The Pune police “took away” research papers and evidence that revealed right-wing extremist leaders Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote instigated and initiated the riots at Bhima Koregaon(BK) in Pune, on January 1, 2018, an anti-caste activist alleged before an inquiry panel, on Wednesday.
Harshali Potdar (33) said she managed to re-collect a chunk of the lost evidence after the Pune police searched her office along with the homes of other activists in April 2018. However, core material against the real culprits of the violence is still unavailable.
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Samabhji Bhide, Milind Ekbote instigated Bhima Koregaon riots: Accused event organiser tells Inquiry Commission

30/09/2021

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The accused in Bhima Koregaon case of 2018, Harshali Potdar, informed the Commission that she apprehended danger to her life for deposing the truth against Bhide and Ekbote in the Commission.
Harshali Potdar, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case of 2018 for her alleged links with banned organisation CPI -Maoist stated before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry that the violence was instigated by Samabhji Bhide, former RSS worker and Milind Ekbote, former BJP corporator.
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Ekbote instigated Koregaon Bhima violence, Elgaar Parishad organiser tells panel

20/09/2021

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Advocate Ashish Satpute, the lawyer representing the commission, started recording her examination in chief on Wednesday.
Harshali Potdar (33), who was named as an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case over her alleged links with the banned CPI-Maoist, deposed as a witness before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry on Wednesday.
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Also Read: Casting a Veil – What we miss by ignoring Maratha caste politics in the Bhima Koregaon case (The Caravan, Dec 2020)

When Can an Accused in Jail Get Medical Bail? Is it Possible in UAPA Cases?

When Can an Accused in Jail Get Medical Bail? Is it Possible in UAPA Cases?

The Quint / by Vakasha Sachdev

Nearly all Bhima Koregaon accused have been denied medical bail despite serious ailments. Here’s what the law says.
On 24 September, the Bombay High Court will consider whether to extend the bail granted by it to poet and activist Varavara Rao on medical grounds, back in February.
81-year-old Rao had been granted medical bail for six months by the court in view of various medical problems that had kept requiring hospitalisation and repeated deteriorations in his condition every time he was sent back to jail.
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Indian authorities are using tax evasion charges to silence critics, says Human Rights Watch

Indian authorities are using tax evasion charges to silence critics, says Human Rights Watch


Drawing by PenPencilDraw (@penpencildraw)

Indian authorities are using tax evasion charges to silence critics, says Human Rights Watch

17/09/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The human rights group expressed concern about a number of cases, including raids on the premises of actor Sonu Sood and activist Harsh Mander.
… In January, the Human Rights Watch had released its “World Report 2021”, in which it took note of the security clampdown in Jammu and Kashmir, violence in Delhi in February, cases against activists in the Bhima Koregaon violence and crackdown on foreign funds of non-governmental organisations.
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Can Modi government solve India’s many problems by raiding activists and journalists?

17/09/2021

Scroll.in / by Rohan Venkataramakrishnan

From Harsh Mander to Rana Ayyub to Newslaundry, recent moves have only reinforced the impression that the state wants to intimidate anyone asking questions.
In the middle of 2020, as the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic was raging all around India, a Group of Ministers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration met six times to figure out how to “neutralise the people who are writing against the government”.
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Koregaon Bhima inquiry commission to resume hearings in Pune from September 27

Koregaon Bhima inquiry commission to resume hearings in Pune from September 27

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

The two-member commission, headed by retired high court judge Justice J N Patel, is probing into the cause of Koregaon Bhima violence of January 1, 2018, in which one person was killed and several injured.
Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry has released its schedule of hearing witnesses in Pune from September 27 to October 1. The Commission had postponed its hearings in Mumbai between August 23 and August 25 due to the unavailability of a bigger place given the Covid-19 situation.
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UN rights chief condemns ongoing restrictions on freedom of assembly

UN rights chief condemns ongoing restrictions on freedom of assembly

Jurist.org / by Sambhav Sharma

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on Monday condemned India’s restrictions placed on public assembly in Jammu and Kashmir, pursuant to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967 (UAPA)…
This condemnation comes after many in India have continuously criticised the allegedly arbitrary and abusive law that punishes dissenters who are vocal against government actions. As many as 5,128 cases have been registered in India under the UAPA since 2015.
The law was also severely scrutinised in July after the demise of Father Stan Swamy, a tribal rights activist who was arrested under the UAPA for his alleged involvement in the Bhima Koregaon violence in 2018 and his links to Maoists.
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Podcast: The unravelling of a conspiracy: were the 16 charged with plotting to kill India’s prime minister framed? 

Podcast: The unravelling of a conspiracy: were the 16 charged with plotting to kill India’s prime minister framed? 


en | 35min | 2021

The Guardian / by Siddhartha Deb

In 2018, Indian police claimed to have uncovered a shocking plan to bring down the government. But there is mounting evidence that the initial conspiracy was a fiction – and the accused are victims of an elaborate plot.
Listen to the podcast

Pegasus Espionage: End the global trade in spyware (international campaign)

Pegasus Espionage: End the global trade in spyware (international campaign)

By Pressenza.com

An Indian-led initiative is trying to ensure that the scandal surrounding the large-scale use of NSO Group’s Pegasus cyber-weapon does not simply die down (as previous scandals have).
We reproduce this call to organise and continue campaigning around some basic principles.
Dear friends, dear friends,
Warm greetings from India. You all know that we are going through a steady erosion of our democracy led by a right wing (Hindu) government under the leadership of Narendra Modi. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), along with its vast network of ideological supporters in India and abroad, seeks to establish a Hindutva majoritarian state based on the deprivation of its social, religious and other minorities.
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Also read: Leaked Data Shows Surveillance Net in Elgar Parishad Case May Have Crossed a Line (The Wire, July 18)

Income Tax department ‘surveys’ Newsclick, Newslaundry in tax case

Income Tax department ‘surveys’ Newsclick, Newslaundry in tax case

Economic Times / by pti

The Income Tax department on Friday conducted separate “survey operations” at the premises of online news portals Newsclick and Newslaundry here, officials said …
Newsclick and its founders were raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in February under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and that investigation is linked to alleged dubious foreign funding received by its registered company, which runs the news portal…
The ED had claimed that it is also probing Newsclick and its promoters for alleged transfer of certain funds to activist Gautam Navlakha, accused in the Elgar Parishad case of Maharashtra.
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Also read: Intimidatory and Blatant Attack: Editors Guild on IT ‘Survey’ at NewsClick, Newslaundry [read full statement] (The Wire, Sep 11, 2021)

Who is a political prisoner? Time to define one

Who is a political prisoner? Time to define one

CivilSociety / by Nandita Haksar

There has been a great deal of anguish, angst and anger expressed at the death of Stanislaus Lourduswamy (1937–2021), popularly known as Stan Swamy, an Indian Roman Catholic priest, a member of the Jesuit order, and a tribal rights activist for many decades…
His death has drawn focus to the cruelty of the system which denied the right to die with dignity to a senior citizen who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease. However, the imprisonment of Stan Swamy and other political prisoners, including poets, journalists, bloggers, women activists, students, Dalits and Muslims, raises crucial questions. It is not just a humanitarian issue but a political one.
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They Don’t Want us to Sing our Songs, Read our Poems

They Don’t Want us to Sing our Songs, Read our Poems

Newsclick / by Parth MN

Moved by the death of anti-caste activist Vira Sathidar, Ramesh Gaichor, an Elgar case accused, had penned a poem in Taloja prison, but the jail chief found it ‘objectionable’ for circulation. Gaichor has moved the court.
Civil and Sessions Court, complaining against one of its prisoners, Ramesh Gaichor. Gaichor, one of the 16 political prisoners arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case, had written a poem as a tribute to Vira Sathidar, a committed anti-caste activist and an Ambedkarite, who died of COVID-19 in April 2021.
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