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Gautam Navlakha, farm stir, Kashmir map: in Delhi cops’ application for Newsclick founder custody

Gautam Navlakha, farm stir, Kashmir map: in Delhi cops’ application for Newsclick founder custody

Police FIR draws on ED claims, links NewsClick to Navlakha-Maoist case

05/10/2023

The Indian Express / by Mahender Singh Manral, Jignasa Sinha, Nirbhay Thakur

Portal rejects China link; Purkayastha, Chakraborty in 7-day police custody
A day after it invoked the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to arrest Prabir Purkayastha, founder and editor-in-chief of news portal NewsClick, and Amit Chakraborty, the portal’s administrative officer, the Special Cell of Delhi Police obtained their custody Wednesday for 7 days in connection with its probe into alleged routing of funds to the portal and Purkayastha’s “friendship since 1991” with rights activist Gautam Navlakha who is under house arrest in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case.
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Gautam Navlakha, farm stir, Kashmir map: in Delhi cops’ application for Newsclick founder custody

04/10/2023

newslaudry / by Prateek Goyal

NewsClick’s founder Prabir Purkayastha and its HR head Amit Chakravarty have been sent to seven-day police custody following their arrest in a UAPA case against the organisation. However, the Delhi Police Special Cell had initially sought 15-day police custody for the two, alleging that there was electronic evidence suggesting a “conspiracy” against the sovereignty of India.
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This Is the Biggest Crackdown on the Indian Press by the Indian State

04/10/2023

The Wire / by Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta

And yet, none of the drastic actions taken by the police made much sense.
October 3, 2023 will go down in history for the biggest crackdown on Indian journalism by the Indian state. Homes of 46 journalists, including nine women, who are said to be directly and indirectly associated with the news portal NewsClick were raided by the Delhi police’s special cell that usually probes cases of terrorism in the wee hours of Tuesday.
… We still don’t know the specific charges slapped against the news portal, but some television channels, known for pro-government coverage, claimed that the portal had routed some of the Chinese funds to human rights activists Gautam Navlakha and Teesta Setalvad, who are already under the government’s scanner.
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‘Set narrative on CAA stir, Bhima Koregaon using Chinese funds’ — Delhi Police’s case against NewsClick

04/10/2023

The Print / by Bismee Taskin

Delhi Police have accused news portal of ‘receiving Chinese funds routed via US’ & publishing reports ‘with set narrative about protests & violence to tarnish India’s image’, it is learnt.
NewsClick used funds received illegally from China to set and propagate through its coverage a narrative about protests and violence across the country like the farmers’ agitation, the Citizenship Amendment Act protests, and the Bhima Koregaon violence — this is what the Delhi Police has alleged in its case lodged 17 August under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, ThePrint has learnt.
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18 Media Organisations Write to CJI; Call for Steps to end Repressive Use of Probe Agencies Against Scribes

04/10/2023

NewsClick / by Newsclick Report

Citing the raids on Newsclick, seizure of devices without following due processes and slapping of UAPA, the letter calls for framing of interrogation norms to prevent intimidation of the media.
A coalition of 18 media organisations across states has written a letter to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Y V Chandrachud seeking the judiciary’s intervention to ensure that the freedoms enshrined in the Constitution are protected so that journalists can carry out their duty without ‘threat of reprisal’.
Read the full text of the letter

Poster by #bakeryprasad

NewsClick raids: Indian law has few safeguards when electronic devices are seized

03/10/2023

Scroll.in / by Abhik Deb

In an earlier case, forensics experts have said that documents cited as evidence had been planted on their devices.
As the Delhi Police raided the homes of several journalists on Tuesday in connection with an investigation into the funding of news website Newsclick, it confiscated electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptops and hard drives.
…
Fabrication of evidence in Bhima Koregaon case
However, even more serious allegations were raised with the Bhima Koregaon case in which several activists and writers were charged with making inflammatory speeches at a conclave in Pune in December 2017.
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Also read:
● Chronology Samajhiye: 5 Days, 4 Agencies Under Modi Govt Control Target Opposition, Journalists, Activists (The Wire | Soumashree Sarkar | Oct 6, 2023)

● Statement by Newsclick on Oct 3 Raids by Special Cell of Delhi Police (By Newsclick Team / Oct 4, 2023)


We have not been provided FIR copy, or informed about the exact particulars of the alleged offences. Electronic devices have been seized from Newsclick premises and homes of employees without any adherence to due process.
Yesterday, on 3rd October, 2023, raids were carried out by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police at various locations including Newsclick’s offices, residences of journalists and employees – past and present, consultants, and freelance contributors associated with Newsclick.
Several persons were questioned and continue to be questioned. As of now, our Founder-Editor 76-year old Prabir Purkayastha and our administrative officer Amit Chakraborty, who happens to be physically challenged, have been arrested.
Read full statement

There’s still hope for journalism: Media veterans on press freedom and technology

There’s still hope for journalism: Media veterans on press freedom and technology

Poster by #bakeryprasad

The News Minute / by TMM Staff

While the speakers at the event expressed concerns about the misuse of technology as experienced in the Bhima Koregaon episode, where malware was used to trap activists, their speeches ended on a positive note.
In December 2019, a year and a half after the arrest of 16 activists in the Bhima Koregaon case, the then editor of the Caravan magazine, Vinod Jose, got a copy of the hard disk of the laptop used by Rona Wilson, from where an ‘incriminating’ email that led to the arrests was ‘found’. Vinod, sitting at a seminar on media freedom and technology at the Freedom Fest – a technology-related event organised by the government of Kerala – spoke of the Caravan’s discovery of a malware that was planted in Rona’s hard disk, which could plant or ferret out any information from the laptop, without his knowledge.
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Also read:
● Police Linked to Hacking Campaign to Frame Indian Activists (Wired.com / June 2022)
● Indian activist charged with terrorism was targeted by hackers linked to prominent cyber espionage attacks, new report finds (The Washington Post / Feb 2022)
● Prison-rights activist Rona Wilson’s hard disk contained malware that allowed remote access (The Caravan / March 2020)

NIA is allowed yet more time to file reply to plea for furnishing copies of evidence to accused

NIA is allowed yet more time to file reply to plea for furnishing copies of evidence to accused

Poster by @/bakeryprasad

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

A few accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad Maoist links and criminal conspiracy case have previously argued that their applications for cloned copies under Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure have been pending for more than five years.
On Friday, a National Investigation (NIA) special court of judge Rajesh Kataria allowed the NIA time till August 17 to file a reply to the applications filed by the accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad Maoist links and criminal conspiracy case.
Read more

Also read:
● NIA gets more time to reply to plea for furnishing copies of evidence to the accused (The Leaflet / Jul 18, 2023)
● Why Courts Are Ignoring Concerns Of Planted Evidence In The Bhima-Koregaon Prosecution (article14 / Jan 2023)
● Incriminating evidence planted in computers: The Trojan solved the Bhima Koregaon case! (Anchored Narratives / Jan 2023)
● Police Linked to Hacking Campaign to Frame Indian Activists (Wired.com / June 2022)

Podcast: Elgar Parishad case defies logic, creates perpetual sense of disbelief

Podcast: Elgar Parishad case defies logic, creates perpetual sense of disbelief


en | 38:57min | 2023

By All Indians Matter

The Elgar Parishad case, in which several activists have been accused of making speeches that led to violence in Bhima Koregaon near Pune in 2018, drags on. Dalit scholar Anand Teltumbde, lawyer-activist Sudha Bhardwaj and poet Varavara Rao have got bail, but only after spending years in prison. But others, such as Vernon Gonsalves, continue to languish behind bars.
Eighty-four-year-old Jharkhand-based tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy, meanwhile, died in custody on July 5, 2021. What does this case tell us about human rights in India and about the effectiveness – or lack of it – of the judiciary?
Susan Abraham – a lawyer who’s been at the forefront of the legal battle, human right activist and wife of Vernon Gonsalves – speaks to All Indians Matter.

Listen to the podcast

Also read:
● Why the letter about a ‘Rajiv Gandhi-type’ assassination plot to kill Modi is fake (dailyo | by Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves | Jan 30, 2018)
● Why peoples’ coalitions are uniting against Hindutva — the ‘new Peshwai’ (dailyo | by Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves | Jan 30, 2018)

India’s UAPA law: Curbing Terrorism or Stifling Democratic Dissent?

India’s UAPA law: Curbing Terrorism or Stifling Democratic Dissent?

The UAPA Law – Curbing Terrorism or Stifling Dissent?

24/01/2023

By Hindus for Human Rights

(DESH-VIDESH CONVERSATION SERIES – SPEAKING ACROSS THE DIVIDE)
Digital Evidence Planting: New Age Threat to Rights Defenders
Presented by Safa Ahmed of the Indian American Muslim Council on behalf of a broad coalition working to secure the release of all the Bhima Koregaon prisoners

WHY ARE MOST OF THE BHIMA KOREGAON DEFENDANTS STILL IN JAIL DESPITE FORENSIC FINDINGS THAT INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE HAD BEEN PLANTED ON SOME OF THEIR COMPUTERS?

Good evening. Digital forensics is a dry, technical field, but the consequences of digital attacks play out like a vivid, terrifying, and painful movie. With the help of technical experts, journalists, and activists, I have prepared for you this narrative of what was revealed in the forensic analysis of the hard drives of three of the BK-16 – Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, and Father Stan Swamy.
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Invite: India’s UAPA law: Curbing Terrorism or Stifling Democratic Dissent?

20/01/2023

By Hindus for Human Rights / @Hindus4HR

The Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and India’s Prisoners of Conscience (POCs): Targeting terrorism or stifling democratic dissent?
Saturday, January 21, 2023
6 pm PST,
7:30 am IST
The conversation will cover the history and the draconian provisions of the UAPA; how it compares to anti-terror laws in other democracies; the views of the State Department and USCIRF; what are some of the typical charges being made being under UAPA. Do they look unlawful to you? Some statistics: How many people arrested since the amended UAPA; Average time spent w/o trial or bail hearing; How many have gone to trial, etc.

Moderator: Govind Acharya, Amnesty International
Panelists:
Banojyotsna Lahiri, Activist, on Umar Khalid’s story and struggle
Yug Mohit Chaudhry, Author and Criminal Lawyer, on legal strategies on behalf of POCs and hurdles faced
Mihir Desai, Human Rights Lawyer, on the story and struggle of Bhima Koregaon 16 and what’s happening to lesser known detainees
Followed by a Q&A moderated by Govind Acharya
Register here

Why Courts Are Ignoring Concerns Of Planted Evidence In The Bhima-Koregaon Prosecution

Why Courts Are Ignoring Concerns Of Planted Evidence In The Bhima-Koregaon Prosecution

Poster by #bakeryprasad

Article14 / by Abhinav Sekhri

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. 
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Also read:
● Incriminating evidence planted in computers: The Trojan solved the Bhima Koregaon case! (Anchored Narratives / Jan 2023)
● Hackers Planted Files to Frame an Indian Priest Who Died in Custody (Wired / Dec 2022)
● Police Linked to Hacking Campaign to Frame Indian Activists (Wired.com / June 2022)

Incriminating evidence planted in computers: The Trojan solved the Bhima Koregaon case!

Incriminating evidence planted in computers: The Trojan solved the Bhima Koregaon case!

Poster by #bakeryprasad

Anchored Narratives / by RJM

How proper file, malware, and memory forensics techniques were able to catch the ModifiedElephant threat actor planting incriminating evidence on defendants’ computers in India.
I agreed in late 2022 to independently review a new digital forensics report from Arsenal Consulting (hereafter: Arsenal), which was still under embargo. Niha Masih, an award-winning reporter with The Washington Post, reached out to me in early December and explained that she had written a series of articles (based on Arsenal reports) about Indian activists in the “Bhima Koregaon” case who were hacked and had evidence planted on their devices before their arrests. Niha asked if I would be able to validate Arsenal’s work.
Read more

Also read:
● Hackers Planted Files to Frame an Indian Priest Who Died in Custody (Wired / Dec 13, 2022)
● Police Linked to Hacking Campaign to Frame Indian Activists (Wired.com / June 2022)
● They were Accused of plotting to overthrow the Modi government – The evidence was planted, a new report says (Washington Post / Feb 2021)

Electronic records relied on during probe dubious, says Vernon Gonsalves in discharge plea

Electronic records relied on during probe dubious, says Vernon Gonsalves in discharge plea

Electronic records relied on during probe dubious, says Gonsalves in discharge plea

05/01/2023

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Referring to multiple reports by US-based forensic consulting firm Arsenal Consulting, which said that malware was planted on the electronic devices of his co-accused, Gonsalves has said the main evidence in the case is ‘unworthy of credit’.
Vernon Gonsalves, an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case, filed his discharge application before the special court on Wednesday, stating that electronic records relied on by the investigators are dubious.
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Vernon Gonsalves cites Arsenal report to seek discharge

05/01/2023

Free Press Journal / by Bhavna Uchil

Accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case, Vernon Gonsalves has sought a clean chit and cited the US forensics firm Arsenal Consulting’s report showing that incriminating evidence was planted on devices of the accused.
Accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case, Vernon Gonsalves has sought a clean chit and cited the US forensics firm Arsenal Consulting’s report showing that incriminating evidence was planted on devices of the accused. The electronic evidence forms the foundation of the prosecution’s case. He has claimed that it’s dubious and has called into question the whole basis of the case.
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Activist Vernon Gonsalves files for discharge

04/01/2023

Hindustan Times / by Charul Shah

The activist has raised questions on the sanction given by the competent authorities to invoke charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. In the discharge plea, he has claimed that the sanctioning authority has to be independent and needs to evaluate evidence before granting sanction
Human rights activist Vernon Gonsalves has filed a plea before the special NIA court seeking discharge from the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon violence case, claiming that there was no evidence to proceed against him. Gonsalves, arrested in August 2018, is currently lodged in Taloja jail.
Read more

Also read:
● Incriminating document found in Fr. Stan Swamy’s computer ‘planted’; similar tampering found in other Bhima Koregaon accused: Reports American forensic firm (The Leaflet / Dec 2022)
● They were Accused of plotting to overthrow the Modi government – The evidence was planted, a new report says (Washington Post / Feb 2021)
● Why the letter about a ‘Rajiv Gandhi-type’ assassination plot to kill Modi is fake (Dailyo.in │ by Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves │ Jun 11, 2018)

5 years on, Bhima Koregaon violence accused yet to get 60% of clone copies

5 years on, Bhima Koregaon violence accused yet to get 60% of clone copies

poster by @/bakeryprasad

The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal

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

Also read:
● Hackers Planted Files to Frame an Indian Priest Who Died in Custody (Wired / Dec 13, 2022)
● Leaked Data Shows Surveillance Net in Elgar Parishad Case May Have Crossed a Line (The Wire / July 2021)

Killing Father Stan with lies

Killing Father Stan with lies

Poster by #bakeryprasad

Midday.com / by Ajaz Ashraf

Stan had, during interrogation, claimed that the evidence against him was ‘interpolated’, as he wrote in his book I Am Not A Silent Spectator; but NIA did not believe him. Now a forensic firm has confirmed it.
Late Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy wrote a slim book, I Am Not A Silent Spectator, before he was arrested on October 8, 2020. In the book, Stan details the questions sleuths from the National Investigation Agency asked him over 15 hours of interrogation spread over five days—and the answers he gave. He scoffed at the documents they said had been extracted from his computer, insisting these were “interpolations”.
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Also read:
● Hackers Planted Files to Frame an Indian Priest Who Died in Custody (Wired / Dec 13, 2022)
● And the future of Stan Swamy (Midday.com / Oct 2022)

I am not a silent spectator

An autobiographical fragment, memory and reflection

Indian Social Institute / By Stan Swamy


Publisher: Indian Social Institute
First published in 2021
140 pages
Download pdf