Arrests – Page 6 – free them all

Constitutional Conduct Group: Open Letter to Citizens of India

28/11/2021 Asha

Constitutionalconduct.com / by former civil servants of the All India and Central Services

Dear fellow citizens,
We are a group of former civil servants of the All India and Central Services who have worked with the Central and State Governments in the course of our careers. As a group, we have no affiliation with any political party but believe in impartiality, neutrality and commitment to the Constitution of India…
It would be pertinent to recall here that the term “fourth-generation warfare” is normally employed in relation to a conflict where the state is fighting non-state actors, such as terror groups and insurgents. Civil society now finds itself placed in this company. Earlier, the term “Urban Naxal” was being used to denigrate individual human rights activists. Clearly, under the New Doval Doctrine, people like Father Stan Swamy would become the arch enemy of the Indian state and the prime concern and target of its security forces.
Read full statement

‘Urban Naxals’, Sharad Pawar’s U-Turn and What it Means for Efforts to Ensure Justice for Activists

22/11/2021 Asha

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

When the MVA government came to power in Maharashtra, it vehemently criticised the Fadnavis government’s handling of the Elgar Parishad case. Two years later, Sharad Pawar is sounding a lot more like Fadnavis.
In 2018, the Maharashtra police, under the Devendra Fadnavis-led Bharatiya Janata Party government, arrested several rights activists, lawyers and academics for their alleged involvement in the Elgar Parishad case.
This series of arrests, made from different parts of the country, made way for the dramatic discourse on the presence of “urban Naxals” in the country.
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Maoist leader linked to ‘plot to kill PM Modi’ arrested in Jharkhand

13/11/2021 Asha

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

Prashant Bose, wanted in several criminal cases, is the secretary of the CPI (Maoist) eastern regional bureau.
Top CPI (Maoist) leader Prashant Bose alias Kishan Da, who was recently arrested by Jharkhand Police, is one of the many accused named in the Elgaar Parishad case. Bose was named in connection with a “Maoist communication” that allegedly mentioned a plot to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Read more

Also read:
● The unravelling of a conspiracy: were the 16 charged with plotting to kill India’s prime minister framed? (The Guardian / Aug 2021)
● Explainer: Arsenal Report on Surendra Gadling (The Leaflet / Jul 2021)
● They were accused of plotting to overthrow the Modi government. The evidence was planted, a new report says. (Washington Post / Feb 2021)

Petition: Open an Investigation into NetWire attack on the computers of the Bhima Koregaon arrestees!

28/08/2021 Asha

India Civil Watch / By NET ALERT

To: Parliamentary Subcommittee on Information Technology
We, the undersigned, demand that the parliamentary subcommittee on Information Technology open an investigation into the NetWire attack on the computers of the Bhima-Koregaon arrestees. There is overwhelming evidence that a malware attack took place. One of the world’s leading digital forensic investigation agencies, Arsenal Consulting, has conducted a thorough investigation and brought to light crucial evidence confirming the attack and the planting of incriminating documents on the hard drives of the Bhima-Koregaon arrestees. Independent experts have verified Arsenal’s findings.
Read more /sign petition

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

12/08/2021 Asha

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
In April 2018, a large group of policemen arrived at the Delhi flat of Rona Wilson, a 47-year-old human rights activist. They had travelled from Pune in the western state of Maharashtra, and appeared, accompanied by Delhi police officials, at Wilson’s single-room flat at 6am. For the next eight hours, they scoured the modest premises, searching the files on Wilson’s laptop and rifling through his books.
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Pegasus Findings: Former Top Cops Call For Relook at Case Against Elgar Parishad / Press Note

05/08/2021 Asha

Senior Retired Police Officers Say Cyber Hacking Operations Revealed in Bhima Koregaon Case and Pegasus Attack Have Serious Implications

05/08/2021

By Family and Friends of BK16

PRESS NOTE
Senior Retired Police Officers Say Cyber Hacking Operations Revealed in Bhima Koregaon Case and Pegasus Attack Have Serious Implications for Police Functioning, Rule of Law
“[Such practices] give a very wrong message to the police leaders” – Julio Ribeiro, retired DGP, Punjab and Gujarat

On a day when the Supreme Court heard petitions against the government’s refusal to inquire into the use of Pegasus spyware, three senior retired police officers addressed an online press conference raising serious concerns about the impact of surveillance and evidence planting. In the wake of clear proof of evidence planting emerging in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad cases, as well as the ongoing Pegasus revelations, Julio Ribeiro (former DGP, Punjab), Vikash Narain Rai (former DGP, Haryana) and SR Darapuri (former IG Police, Uttar Pradesh), said such revelations have serious implications for the rule of law and for the functioning of the country’s police. They criticised the government’s failure to investigate these crimes, and also called for the release of those arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case. …

Forensic Science Laboratory’s analysis unreliable: Rona Wilson’s advocate

05/08/2021 Asha

Forensic Science Laboratory’s analysis unreliable: Rona Wilson’s advocate

05/08/2021

Gauri Lankesh News / by Gauri Lankesh News Desk

Since FSL did not rule out the tampering of the laptop and remained silent on the issue, the counsel said that the laboratory’s analysis remains unreliable.
Rona Wilson’s counsel on Monday told the Bombay High court that Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) failed to respond to the question ‘whether Wilson’s hard disk was tampered with or not?’ Since FSL did not rule out the tampering of the laptop and chose to remain silent on the issue, the council said that the laboratory’s analysis remains unreliable.
Based on the reports published by US cyber forensic firm Arsenal Consulting, Wilson had moved the Bombay High court stating that there was tampering of evidence and his laptop was infiltrated with malware. Wilson thus asked for the charges against him to be dropped.
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Claims of evidence planted in device can be raised during trial: NIA to Bombay HC in Rona Wilson and Shoma Sen plea

04/08/2021

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

“Much water has flown. Bail pleas have been heard and disposed of, they have even gone up to Supreme Court. The case is now posted for framing of charge and they want to stay the trial,” ASG Anil Singh argued.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that the allegation by Bhima Koregaon accused Rona Wilson and Shoma Sen that evidence was planted in their electronic devices, is an argument which can be raised before the trial court.
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Forensic Sciences Lab Doesn’t Rule Out Tampering Of Rona Wilson’s Laptop: Jaising To Bombay HC

04/08/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

… Arguing Wilson’s quashing petition under Article 226, Senior Advocate Indira Jaising submitted that FSL’s failure to respond to a specific question put by the then Investigating officer of the case: ‘whether Wilson’s hard disk was tampered with or not?’, indicates that their analysis is not reliable…
On Wednesday, Jaising submitted that the seizure of Wilson’s laptop was not secure as the ‘hash values’ of the electronic devices were not calculated. Moreover, his laptop was operated during the search in 2018, which was impermissible.
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Bhima Koregoan case: NIA opposes quashing pleas of Rona Wilson

04/08/2021

Free Press Journal / by Urvi Mahajani

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has opposed the petitions filed by Rona Wilson, accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, stating that it wasn’t maintainable because it entirely revolves around this theory of planting of evidence.
Wilson and other accused, Shoma Sen, have filed petitions in the HC seeking quashing of the case against them.
Read more

Also read: Leaked Data Shows Surveillance Net in Elgar Parishad Case May Have Crossed a Line (The Wire / Jul 18, 2021)

Digital evidence in the shadow of Pegasus

03/08/2021 Asha

The Leaflet / by Abhay Nevagi

The Supreme Court must take suo moto cognizance of the Pegasus spyware controversy and issue directions in respect of a certificate issued under section 65B of the Evidence Act, 1872. This certificate must verify that the investigative agencies have found no tampering on electronic devices that become their basis to arrest an accused, writes Abhay Nevagi.
… Consider these recent developments in India against the background of Pegasus and other hacking scandals. A petition in the Bhima-Koregaon case, Dr Shoma Sen vs State of Maharashtra, has raised serious concerns about the nature of the evidence against the accused, based on the findings of Arsenal, a reputed cyber-forensics agency based in the USA.
Read more

Also read:
► Pegasus Project: 161 Names Revealed By The Wire On Snoop List So Far (The Wire / Aug 4, 2021)
► Leaked Data Shows Surveillance Net in Elgar Parishad Case May Have Crossed a Line (The Wire / Jul 18, 2021)

The SC’s decision to hear the Pegasus PIL is a momentous event for Indian democracy

02/08/2021 Asha

Free Press Journal / by FPJ Editorial

The Supreme Court’s decision to hear the Pegasus PIL, listed for this week, is a momentous event for Indian democracy but no one seems to be overly excited about it. Emotions vary from pessimism to cautious optimism, much like the way the story itself was received.
… Pegasus and other such spyware is not only used for surveillance but also for data mining and planting evidence, which is the plaint of renowned tribal rights activists, academics and their associates arrested in the Bhima-Koregaon case.
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How 5 Reliance Workers Fighting For A Better Deal Found Themselves In Jail On Terrorism Charges

29/07/2021 Maya

Article 14 / by Jyoti Punwani

For 15 years, these Mumbai contract workers struggled to be treated on par with regular workers and went from success to success, despite arrests and dismissals. Then the State used a law meant to be used against terrorists to incarcerate them with scant evidence of such crimes.
… So, long before the June 2018 arrests of six Left activists in what has come to be known as the Bhima Koregaon case, the Maharashtra Government’s narrative that the violence on 1 January 2018 was planned by “urban Naxals” was set into motion by the arrests of these workers.
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Also read:
• Bail After 3 Years for the Incarcerated Mumbai Electric Employees Union Workers (groundxero, June 2021)
• Statement on release of four Reliance workers – First to be falsely implicated in Bhima Koregaon case (Sanhati India, January 2019)