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Category: Persecution

Govt Can Find Out Who Planted Documents, Says Cyber Expert

Govt Can Find Out Who Planted Documents, Says Cyber Expert

The Quint / by Poonam Agarwal

An attack of this nature requires intelligence, time and money, said Sandeep Shukla.
“It should be noted that this is one of the most serious cases involving evidence tampering that Arsenal has ever encountered…” Excerpts from Arsenal Consulting forensic report
That’s what President Mark Spencer of Arsenal Consulting, the US-based forensic agency, said about the agency’s latest report that reveals that incriminating evidence was planted in the computer of Surendra Gadling, who was arrested under UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act) for alleged links with banned CPI (Maoist) group in the Bhima Koregaon case.
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Also read: Explainer: Arsenal Report on Surendra Gadling (The Leaflet, June 7, 2021)

Magisterial inquiry to be conducted into death of Father Stan Swamy

Magisterial inquiry to be conducted into death of Father Stan Swamy

The Indian Express / by Mohamed Thaver

The 83-year-old Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the Elgaar Parishad case on October 8, 2020, died in judicial custody while undergoing treatment at the hospital.
A magisterial inquiry will be conducted into the death of Father Stan Swamy, who passed away at the Holy Family hospital in Mumbai’s Bandra on Monday, officials of the Maharashtra prison department said.
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Stan Swamy death: Many other Bhima Koregaon accused need medical treatment too, say relatives

Stan Swamy death: Many other Bhima Koregaon accused need medical treatment too, say relatives


Prison diaries. Drawing by Arun Ferreira

Scroll.in /by Vijayta Lalwani

Most of those imprisoned in the case are over 50 and suffer from a range of conditions.
The death of activist Stan Swamy in custody on Monday has caused palpable anxiety among the families of the other 15 people accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. The 84-year-old Jesuit priest died in a hospital in Mumbai after his plea for bail was turned down several times, despite suffering from Parkinson’s disease and later Covid-19.
Fourteen of the people accused in the case remain in prison in Maharashtra, charged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly conspiring to set off caste violence in a village near Pune in 2018.
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Also read: The Institutional Murder of Fr. Stan Swamy – A statement by the family members and friends of the BK-16 (July 6, 2021)

Can ‘Planted Malware’ Report Help the Accused in Court?

Can ‘Planted Malware’ Report Help the Accused in Court?

Can ‘Planted Malware’ Report Help the Accused in Court?

08/07/2021

The Quint / by Karan Tripathi

Bhima Koregaon accused can milk the Arsenal report to discredit the NIA’s entire case during the trial.
A day after the death of activist Father Stan Swamy, who had been under arrest in the Bhima Koregaon case under UAPA for alleged Maoist links, a report by Arsenal Consulting, an American forensic agency, has claimed that evidence was ‘planted’ on the computer of another activist, Surendra Gadling, another accused in the case, also currently under arrest.
The malware that targeted Gadling’s computer via emails also had several other Bhima-Koregaon accused, including Stan Swamy and Sudha Bhardwaj copied on the mails, Arsenal has claimed.
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Explainer: Arsenal Report on Surendra Gadling

06/07/2021

The Leaflet / by Nihalsing Rathod

In light of the recent revelation that the documents on Surendra Gadling’s computer, which has been used as evidence to arrest activists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the Bhima Koregaon case over the last three years were planted by hackers into the computer, Nihalsing Rathod explains what the report containing the revelation states, and answers questions that may cross one’s mind in light of this information.
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Surendra Gadling’s Computer Was Attacked, Incriminating Documents Planted: Arsenal Consulting

06/07/2021

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Forensic digital investigations have raised serious questions about the Elgar Parishad investigation.
For over 20 months, lawyer and human rights defender Surendra Gadling’s computer was attacked and surveilled upon, and incriminating documents were planted on it. Gadling, one of the first people to be arrested among the 16 human rights activists, lawyers and academics in custody in the ongoing Elgar Parishad case, was cyber attacked since February 16, 2016 – two years before he was finally arrested on April 6, 2018. Fourteen significant documents, on the basis of which the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has held him in jail for over three years, were planted on his computer using a malware NetWire.
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Evidence found on a second Indian activist’s computer was planted, report says

06/07/2021

The Washington Post / by Niha Masih and Joanna Slater

The two activists were jailed in 2018 and accused of plotting an insurgency against the government. A new forensic report concludes they also shared something else: They were both victims of the same hacker who planted evidence on their computers.
The finding raises fresh doubts about a case that rights groups consider an effort to crack down on critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. More than a dozen activists have been imprisoned without trial under a stringent anti-terrorism law that rarely results in convictions.
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NDTV (July 6):
@OnReality_Check | “Indian government should name the attacker. We only analyse evidence put in our hands”: Mark G Spencer, President Arsenal Consulting, on #BhimaKoregaon case

en | 4:05min | 2021
Watch video

Video: The Bizarre Evidence That Put Stan Swamy & The BK 16 in Prison

Video: The Bizarre Evidence That Put Stan Swamy & The BK 16 in Prison


en | 6:41min | 2021

By The Wire Video

On Monday, 5th July, Fr. Stan Swamy passed away after eight months in prison – conditions that exacerbated his Parkinson’s. He was one of the jailed human-rights advocates also known as the Bhima Koregaon 16.
The evidence that surrounds the case is bizarre. The Wire breaks down the story, looking into the investigation conducted by Arsenal Consulting, a Boston-based digital forensics firm that has claimed the evidence for the arrests of the activists, was planted on their computers.
Watch video

Cognizance Of Chargesheet Vitiated As Pune Judge Wasn’t Special Judge Under NIA Act? / 8 Accused Seek Bail

Cognizance Of Chargesheet Vitiated As Pune Judge Wasn’t Special Judge Under NIA Act? / 8 Accused Seek Bail

By LawBeat (July 15):
BombayHighCourt bench led by Justice SS Shinde to hear Lawyer-Activist Sudha Bharadwaj, accused in the #BhimaKoregaon – #ElgaParishad case seeking default bail contending that the trial judge was not authorised to take cognisance of the 2019 charge sheet against her.

Produce papers showing Pune judge was competent to pass orders, HC tells Maharashtra

08/07/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

In a petition seeking default bail, activist Sudha Bharadwaj said that Sessions Judge KD Vadane was an additional judge and not a designated special judge.
The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Maharashtra government to produce documents to show that the judge who granted an extension to the Pune Police to file the chargesheet in the Bhima Koregaon violence case and took cognisance of it was authorised to do so, PTI reported.
… The court posted the matter for next hearing on July 15.
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Cognizance Of Bhima Koregaon Chargesheet Vitiated As Pune Judge Wasn’t Special Judge Under NIA Act? Bombay High Court To Examine

08/07/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The Bombay High Court on Monday said that the Court’s records were consistent with lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj’s RTI replies, according to which Additional Sessions Judge (Pune) Kishore Vadane was not appointed as a Special Judge under the NIA Act in 2018/2019.
“Record is the same as you had annexed under RTI,” Justice SS Shinde heading the division bench said at the beginning of the hearing.
The court also asked the State if it had anything additional to show that the judge was assigned the case back then.
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Judge who extended chargesheet deadline not special judge under NIA Act, reveals Sudha Bharadwaj’s lawyer

06/07/2021

The Free Press Journal / by Staff Reporter

Trade unionist, human rights lawyer and activist Sudha Bharadwaj through her advocate Yug Chaudhry claimed that the special judge, who extended the time to file chargesheet into the Bhima Koregaon violence case, and also took cognisance of the chargesheet, was not a special judge under the National Investigation Agency Act.
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Sudha Bharadwaj’s Bail Plea: Bombay High Court To Verify If Pune Sessions Judge Was Competent To Take Cognizance Of Chargesheet

06/07/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The Bombay High Court said it would verify with the Registry if Additional Sessions Judge Kishor Vadane was a Special Judge under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act in 2018/2019 and if he was authorised to take cognisance of the Pune police’s charge sheet against the accused in the Bhima Koregaon Elgar – Parishad Case.
A division bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar heard Bharadwaj’s plea seeking bail in default Under Sections 439, 482 and section 167(2)(a)(i) of the Criminal Procedure Code read with section 43 D(2)of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. She has challenged two orders of Judge KD Vadane.
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8 accused in Bhima Koregaon seek bail as judge who rejected bail was not authorised

06/07/2021

The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal

Eight accused in the Bhima Koregaon caste violence case moved the Bombay High Court on Tuesday seeking bail on the ground that the special judge at Pune who rejected their default bail was not authorised to do so. Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira filed the petition through advocate R. Sathyanarayanan.
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Also read: Bombay High Court Seeks Reply On Sudha Bharadwaj’s Plea For Default Bail In Bhima Koregaon Case (Live Law, June 2021)

Father Stan Swamy Died Awaiting Bail, What About Other UAPA Accused?

Father Stan Swamy Died Awaiting Bail, What About Other UAPA Accused?

The Quint / by Mekhala Saran

For the 15 Bhima Koregaon accused, there’s no trial in sight, and no interim relief in reach either.
Father Stan Swamy’s death, as an incarcerated undertrial in the Bhima Koregaon case, has sparked outrage and triggered international condemnation.
Swamy was 84 years old, suffered from Parkinson’s disease, and had told the Bombay High Court, weeks before his death, that all he wanted was to go home.
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Advocate Gadling, accused in Bhima Koregaon case, moves HC for bail

Advocate Gadling, accused in Bhima Koregaon case, moves HC for bail

Advocate Gadling, accused in Bhima Koregaon case, moves HC for bail

06/07/2021

The Hindu / by Special Correspondent

In appeal against temporary bail application rejection by additional sessions judge, Pune
Advocate Surendra Gadling, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon caste violence case, recently moved the Bombay High Court in appeal against the rejection of his temporary bail application.
He was arrested on June 6, 2018, by the Pune Police and is currently lodged at the Taloja Central Jail. On November 6, 2018, his bail application was rejected by additional sessions judge, Pune. He then filed the bail application in the High Court.
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Bhima Koregaon Accused Challenges NIA Court’s Refusal To Allow Him To Join Family For Mother’s Last Rites

06/07/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The Bombay High Court on Monday heard Bhima Koregaon- Elgar Parishad Case accused – Advocate Surendra Gadling’s plea challenging the Special NIA Court’s order refusing him temporary bail for his mother’s last rites in 2020.
Gadling was arrested on June 6, 2018. This day, three years ago. He faces charges under sections 121, 121A, 124A, 153A, 505(1)(b), 117, 120b r/w 34 of the IPC and sections 13,16,17,18,18-B,20,38,39 and 40 of the UAPA along with 14 other activists. Father Stan Swamy, the 16th accused to be arrested, passed away yesterday.
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Status of medical bail pleas of other accused / An Account Of Stan Swamy’s Struggles For Basic Rights

Status of medical bail pleas of other accused / An Account Of Stan Swamy’s Struggles For Basic Rights

Status of medical bail pleas of other accused

06/07/2021

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

In June 2020, the special NIA court rejected interim bail pleas of poet Varavara Rao and former professor Shoma Sen, who sought bail citing their health conditions in light of Covid. Rao was subsequently granted temporary bail by HC for six months.
In May, a vacation bench of the High Court hearing a medical bail filed by Maaysha Singh, the daughter of activist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, said prisoners are entitled to access their own medical records and that prisoners should be allowed to make a phone call to a family member after a hospital visit. The court disposed of the medical bail plea after Singh’s lawyer submitted that Bharadwaj had received treatment.
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An Account Of Father Stan Swamy’s Struggles For Basic Rights

06/07/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

Father Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old Jesuit priest who spent over 60 years of his life working for the most marginalised communities, for Adivasis and against the illegal detention of minors branded as Maoists in Jharkhand, passed away at the Holy Family hospital on Monday, his last wish unfulfilled.
… Father Swamy’s lawyer Sharif Shaikh had argued during his first application for interim bail on medical grounds in October 2020 that he could not sign even his vakalatnama and a thumb impression had to be taken.
But NIA opposed his plea. They accused the old man of trying to take “undue benefit” of the pandemic.
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Father Stan Swamy Passes Away Ahead Of His Bail Hearing / Lawyer Demands Judicial Inquiry

Father Stan Swamy Passes Away Ahead Of His Bail Hearing / Lawyer Demands Judicial Inquiry

Father Stan Swamy Passes Away Ahead Of His Bail Hearing In Bombay High Court

05/07/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

Octogenarian tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy, an undertrial prisoner in the Bhima Koregaon case, passed away today at 1.30 PM, a month after he was admitted to a private hospital in Mumbai, following court’s orders.
This fact was told by Swamy’s counsel to the Bombay High Court, which was hearing his application for bail on medical grounds.
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Stan Swamy Passes Away After Contracting COVID-19 in Jail, Lawyer Demands Judicial Inquiry

05/07/2021

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

The 84-year-old tribal rights activist had been seriously ill since May, but was moved to a private hospital only after the high court intervened.
Jesuit priest and tribal rights activists Stan Swamy passed away on Monday afternoon, two days after he was placed on ventilator support in Mumbai’s Holy Family Hospital. Swamy had tested positive for COVID-19 and was shifted out of the Taloja central prison to a private hospital over a month ago.
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