Independent forensic experts have raised concerns of evidence being planted in the ongoing Bhima-Koregaon prosecution (ongoing for 45 months, with not even charges framed yet). But India’s tightly regulated criminal process severely restricts the right of accused persons to introduce new material. It speaks to many important concerns for the state, such as speedy trial, but a general rule that brooks no exception does more harm than good.
It has been almost 45 months since the police began investigating the theory of a larger conspiracy in the cases emanating out of the Bhima-Koregaon violence of January 2018. Read more
It has been five years and the case has witnessed arrests of several activists (some getting bail after long incarceration) for alleged conspiracy and covert involvement in the Elgar Parishad gathering purportedly leading to the January 1, 2018 violence during the bicentenary celebrations of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon.
Last week, during a hearing in the Bhima-Koregaon case, the Supreme Court was struck with an application by the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court for an extension of one more year to frame charges in the Bhima Koregaon case. Read more
5 years on, charges not framed despite repeat extensions
19/01/2023
Sabrangindia / by Sanchita Kadam
The Special NIA Court has said that it will first need to dispose the discharge applications filed by the accused, before deciding on framing of charges
The Special NIA court, Mumbai has sought a time extension of one more year from the Supreme Court to frame charges in the case. This request was sent in November last year. On January 16, the Supreme Court said that it will proceed with hearing bail applications of activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira from January 30.
Last year in August while hearing Gonsalves’ plea, the apex court had given the Special Court three months’ time to decide whether charges are required to be framed against the accused or not. This three month period ended in November 2022, just when the Special Court sought an extension for another year! Read more
Elgaar Parishad case: Court seeks one more year to decide on framing charges
18/01/2023
The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak
On August 18, the Supreme Court had directed the trial court to decide on these aspects within three months, granting it time till last November.
The special court hearing the Elgaar Parishad case in Mumbai had last November sought an extension of one year to decide whether to frame charges against the accused and also take a call on their discharge applications. Read more
CPI(M): Release Elgar Parishad Political Prisoners Immediately
01/01/2023
Peoplesdemocracy.in / by Maharashtra state committee of the CPI (M)
There is no connection between the Elgar Parishad at Pune and the violence that erupted at Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018. This was part of the deposition made by the then investigating senior police officer, Ganesh More, before the N J Patel Commission set up by the Maharashtra government. The Maharashtra state committee of the CPI(M) strongly demands that, in the light of this revelation, all the Bhima Koregaon political detenus languishing in prison be immediately released. Read full statement
The anniversary of Bhima Koregaon victory was celebrated in Sakleshpur on Sunday.
Hundreds of people took part in the procession held in memory of the battle held in 1818, in which a few hundred Mahar soldiers of East India Company defeated the Peshwa army at Bhima Koregaon in Pune. A replica of Bhima Koregaon pillar was carried along the procession. A federation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes had organised the event. Read more
Huge turnout at 205th anniversary of battle of Koregaon Bhima
02/01/2023
The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde, Sushant Kulkarni
As per a Dalit narrative, a British Army comprising 500 soldiers from the Mahar community defeated a 25,000-strong force of upper caste Peshwas in the battle of Koregaon Bhima.
The programme to mark the 205th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima at the ‘Jaystambh’ in Perne village of Pune district passed off peacefully on Sunday. ‘Jaystambh’ is a ‘military monument’ erected by the British government in 1821 in memory of its soldiers, who fought against the Peshwas during the Maratha rule at Koregaon Bhima on January 1, 1818. Read more
Bhima-Koregaon battle anniversary passes peacefully amid heavy security with lakhs in attendance
01/01/2023
The Hindu / by Shoumojit Banerjee
The 205th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle passed without incident as lakhs of Ambedkarites from across Maharashtra and the country congregated near the Ranstambh (victory pillar) in Perne village in Pune district on Sunday under heavy security cover.
Crowds have been steadily milling in Bhima-Koregaon since Saturday evening to pay floral tributes to the bravery of the Mahar soldiers who fought against the Peshwa forces in the 1818 battle. Read more
Battle of Koregaon Bhima anniversary: Thousands start paying respects at Jaystambh amidst heavy police deployment
01/01/2023
The Indian Express / by Express News Service
The district administration said it is expecting a turnout of over five lakh people this year. The police identified dozens of social media posts which can potentially lead to law and order and situation and initiated a process to delete them.
Thousands of followers have started to arrive at the Jaystambh in Pune’s Perne village marking the 205th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima Sunday amidst heavy police deployment. The police said they are keeping a close watch on the social media posts related to the subject. Read more
Remember the battle of Bhima Koregaon! Fight for the freedom of all those incarcerated in false cases! (1)
On January 1 every year, Dalits and Bahujans gather at Bhima Koregaon near Pune to commemorate the anniversary of the Bhima Koregaon (2)
near Pune to commemorate the anniversary of the Bhima Koregaon Battle of 1818 in which the British Bombay Native Infantry, comprising mostly Mahar Dalit soldiers, defeated the Peshwa army. This date is revered by the Dalits as a victory against the Brahminical Peshwas. (3)
But in 2018, those gatherings for the function were attacked violently by men carrying saffron flags, and one man was killed and several injured as a result. (4)
At Vadhu Budruk close to Bhima Koregaon, stones were pelted at Dalits and organised ‘social boycott’ against Dalits en route to the function. (5)
Though a large gathering of Dalit-Bahujans was fully expected at Bhima Koregaon, the police presence to protect the gathering was negligible. (6)
Milind Ekbote of Samast Hindu Aghadi and Sambhaji Bhide of Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan led the attacks; Ekbote is a former corporator from the BJP andBhide also is close to top BJP and Shiv Sena leaders. (7)
Since then, the BJP government has used the violence inflicted by the RSS lackeys as a scapegoat for an all out attacks on the people and the Constitution. (8)
Several activists and intellectuals have been arrested on fabricated charges under the draconian UAPA. (9)
Teachers and intellectuals like Hany Babu, Anand Teltumbde, Shoma Sen, Rona Wilson, Gautam Navlakha among others languish in jail while Milind Ekbote and the saffron goons roam free! (10)
We remember Stan Swamy! We remember your crimes in Bhima Kroegaon! Long live the battle of Dalits against caste system! Free all political prisoners!
Despite directions given by the special court to NIA to provide all the evidence, only 40% has been shared, says advocate for some of the accused in the case.
It is almost five years since caste-based violence broke out at Bhima Koregaon in Pune but more than 60% of ‘clone copies’ of the evidence against the 15 accused, who are activists, lawyers, journalists, and professors, have not been shared with them. Read more
On the fifth anniversary of the Elgaar Parishad, on 31 December, NewsClick spoke to former Justice BG Kolse Patil, one of its organisers, on how controversy overtook the event.
Few outside Maharashtra had heard of the Marathi word Elgaar, let alone understood its meaning, until 2018. Elgaar was the name given to a meeting of people, or Parishad, convened at the Shaniwarwada Fort ground, Pune, on 31 December 2017, a day before lakhs of Ambedkarites were to visit Bhima Koregaon village from around the country. The date 1 January 2018 was special, for it marked the 200th anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon, which the Ambedkarites frame as their victory over the army of Peshwa Baji Rao II (1775-1851). Read more
CPI(M) Secretary Dr Uday Narkar said that the then Investigating Officer of Pune Police Ganesh More had made a deposition to the effect before Justice J. N. Patel Commission which probed the events.
Mumbai: Against the backdrop of the revelations that there was no connection between the Elgar Parishad held in Pune on December 31, 2017 and the caste violence that erupted in Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) demanded the immediate release of those arrested in connection with the incidents, here on Saturday. Read more
by CPI (M) @cpimspeak (Dec 14, 2022):
CPI(M) demands that all the Bhima Koregaon accused be immediately released from jail; NIA should not deny their bail applications and or discharge appeals; an expert, fair re-examination taking into account the forensic evidence available should be made in a timebound framework.
The death of Fr. Stan Swamy was finalised the day he was arrested: Senior Advocate Mihir Desai
26/12/2022
Sabrang / by Sabrangindia
A Press Conference discussing the recent Arsenal report, and the tampering of evidence in Late Fr. Stan Swamy’s Case
A press conference was organised by the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh in Mumbai on December 22, 2022. The aim of this press conference was to discuss the issue of reports recently released suggesting fabrication of evidence on the computer of Father Stan Swamy. The speakers at this conference were Fr. Joe Xavier, Fr. Frazer Mascarenhas, Senior Advocate Mihir Desai and Former Professor Nagarjuna G. There were almost 30-40 journalists present in the audience. Read more
‘Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy’
23/12/2022
Rediff.com / by Neeta Kolhatkar
The State has played with their lives.’
‘Arsenal proved the machines were hacked and false evidence implanted with false files and letters.’
An independent organisation, ‘Mumbai Rises To Save Democracy’, called upon the public and media to raise their voices against the authoritarian State.
This call comes after the United States-based digital forensics firm Arsenal Consulting revealed that several incriminating documents were planted on the computers of the late Father Stan Swamy, Rona Wilson and Surendra Gadling, accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. Read more
‘Fr Stan Swamy did not even access plants on his computer’
23/12/2022
Hindustan Times / by Gautam S Mengle
Mihir Desai, Senior Advocate at High Court of Bombay, Fr. Joe Xavier, Convenor of Fr. Stan Swamy Legacy Committee of the Jesuits, Fr. Frazer Mascarenhas, Former Principal of St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai along with Nagarjuna G., Former Professor of Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, TIFR, during the press conference on “Fabricating Evidence Against Life & Liberty: Tampering with Fr. Stan Swamy’s computer and its implications for Bhima Koregaon case, at Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh (MMPS), near Azad Maidan, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, December 22, 2022. Read more
Stan Swamy didn’t access files used against him, evidence fabricated: US-based forensics firm
22/12/2022
India Today / by Mustafa Shaikh
Evidence against Late Father Stan Swamy in the Bhima Koregaon case was planted and fabricated, US-based digital forensics firm, Arsenal Consulting, stated in a report.
Evidence against Late Father Stan Swamy in the Bhima Koregaon case was planted and fabricated. His computer was compromised by the same attacker who hacked the computers of co-accused Rona Wilson and Surendra Gadling, US-based digital forensics firm, Arsenal Consulting, stated in a report.
Swamy’s lawyer and friends revealed details of the report and their further course of action on Thursday. Read more
‘Stan Swamy was jailed as he used law to help adivasis’
22/12/2022
Times of India / by TNN
Why did Fr Stan Swamy, an 80-year-old Jesuit and tribal rights activist, find himself in the crosshairs of the investigating agencies? At a news meet on Thursday, a panel comprising close associates claimed it was because Swamy had used the legal system to help tribals, whose lands were illegally grabbed. “Stan worked for justice and paid the price for it,” said Fr. Joe Xavier, ex-executive director of Indian Social Institute. Read more
Poster by #bakeryprasad
Activists Call for Release of Accused in Elgar Parishad Case, Probe into ‘Fabrication’ of Evidence
22/12/2022
The Wire / by The Wire Staff
There is a fresh demand for an impartial probe from activists in the wake of a recent report by a US-based digital forensics firm stating that ‘incriminating evidence’ was ‘planted’ on the laptop of activist Stan Swamy, an accused in the case.
Human rights activists, lawyers and academicians on Thursday, December 22, called for the release of the accused persons in the Elgar Parishad case and an impartial probe into the allegations of tampering of electronic devices and fabrication of evidence of all those accused in the case. Read more
Fight to clear Fr Stan Swamy’s name ‘will continue’
23/12/2022
UCA News / by UCA News reporter
A recent report by US digital forensics firm reveals how the late Jesuit priest was implicated by planted false evidence
Friends and colleagues of a dead Jesuit Indian priest have pledged to continue the fight “to clear his name from the false cases” that led to his arrest, imprisonment and death in custody.
Father Stan Swamy, the 84-year-old priest and indigenous rights activist died on July 5, 2021, after being denied timely medical treatment for Parkinson’s disease and other age-related ailments. Read more
NIA may be suppressing probe findings: Stan Swamy’s lawyer Mihir Desai
23/12/2022
Midday.com / by Nascimento Pinto
The participants called for the release of the remaining co-accused in the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case, along with an independent impartial investigation into the tampering of electronic devices and fabrication of evidence of all those accused in the case.
Almost a week after American digital forensics firm ‘Arsenal Consulting’ revealed in a detailed report that tribal rights activist Father Stanislaus Lourdes Swamy’s computer was tampered with and ‘evidence’ was planted on it, human rights activists, lawyers and academicians vowed to secure justice for the late Ranchi-based priest and those accused of terror links in Bhima-Koregaon case. Read more
Video: Press Conference by Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy (MRSD)
22/12/2022
In wake of the recent Arsenal report which exposes the malicious tampering with Fr. Stan Swamy’s computer, MRSD* organized a press conference on “Fabricating Evidence Against Life and Liberty: Tampering with Fr. Stan Swamy’s computer and its implications for Bhima Koregaon case”
Legal experts say that this information becomes useful during the stage of the trial, which is yet to start.
A new report that says that “evidence” on Stan Swamy’s computer was planted would not be of much use to the accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon case until the trial starts, legal experts point out. Read more
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