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NIA, govt asked to respond to Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen’s petition seeking SIT probe by July 1

NIA, govt asked to respond to Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen’s petition seeking SIT probe by July 1

NIA questions maintainability of plea by Prof Shoma Sen seeking quashing of charges

17/06/2021

The Leaflet / by Gahena Gambani

Earlier this year, the Bhima Koregaon case made international headlines, when The Washington Post reported that cybersecurity firm M/s Arsenal Consulting had analysed the laptops of some accused, and reached the conclusion that malware had been planted on the same, presumably with a view to frame the accused.
Soon after, Shoma Sen, an assistant professor and the head of the English Department at Nagpur University, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon matter, approached the Bombay High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution and Section 482 of the CrPC, praying for a quashing of the sanctions against her under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. A similar petition had also been filed by her co-accused, Rona Wilson.
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NIA, Maharashtra govt asked to respond to Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen’s petition seeking SIT probe by July 1

17/06/2021

FPJ / by Narsi Benwal

The Bombay High Court bench of Justices Sambhaji Shinde and Nizamoodin Jamadar on Thursday adjourned the hearing in the petitions filed by rights activists Rona Wilson and Shoma Sen till July 13. The bench has granted a last chance to the National Investigation Agency and Maharashtra government to file its response to the petitions by June 1.
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Bhima Koregaon: Marking three years since the first arrest

Bhima Koregaon: Marking three years since the first arrest


Click to enlarge posters

The Leaflet / by Nihalsing B Rathod

Recalling the first set of arrests made in the questionable Bhima Koregaon violence case almost exactly three years ago, Nihalsing B Rathod, in this first of a three-part series, recollects the personal horrors of trying to track Surendra Gadling in the immediate aftermath of his arrest, details the events leading to the arrest of five more activists in August 2018, and explains how basic tenets of criminal law were violated by the Pune Police in making these arrests.

The morning of June 6, 2018, gave me a horrific memory that perhaps will never fade. Early in the morning, I received a phone call that police were at the house of Advocate Surendra Gadling again. The memory of the raid of April 17, 2018, was still fresh.
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NIA Denies Hacking Rona Wilson’s Laptop / Objects to entertaining petition based on Arsenal Report

NIA Denies Hacking Rona Wilson’s Laptop / Objects to entertaining petition based on Arsenal Report

NIA Denies Hacking Rona Wilson’s Laptop In Bhima Koregaon Case; Says Arsenal Consulting Has No Locus To Give Opinion Of Sub-Judice Matter

01/05/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has denied the report by digital forensics firm Arsenal Consulting, which concluded that incriminating material, including a conspiracy to kill the Prime Minister and overthrow the government, was planted on Elgaar Parishad – Bhima Koregaon accused, researcher Rona Wilson’s laptop.
The NIA made these claims in an affidavit to oppose interim relief to Wilson, stating his petition before the Bombay High Court was not maintainable.
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Rona Wilson can´t rely on Forensic Report by US firm to seek quashing of Case: NIA to Bombay High Court

01/05/2020

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The petitioner can rely upon the same only during the trial when evidence is led and not in a plea seeking quashing, the NIA submitted.
The forensic report by US firm, Arsenal Consulting cited by Bhima Koregaon accused Rona Wilson to claim innocence, is not part of the chargesheet and cannot, therefore, be relied upon by the accused to seek quashing of chargesheet, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has told the Bombay High Court.
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NIA objects to entertaining petition based on Arsenal Consulting Report

30/04/2021

The Leaflet / by Nihalsing B Rathod

THE Bhima Koregaon case came into the spotlight again when The Washington Post made a sensational revelation that the electronic evidence being used against the activists in the Bhima Koregaon case was planted. It relied on the report prepared by a digital forensics firm, M/s Arsenal Consulting, which was approached by the defence lawyer of one of the accused, Rona Wilson, for examining an electronic copy of his seized laptop.
Wilson, who has been an under-trial in the Bhima Koregaon case since June 6th, 2018, recently approached the Bombay High Court, invoking Article 226 of the Constitution of India, and Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, seeking the quashing of sanctions to prosecute him and others under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
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Also read: Why Sudhir Dhawale’s acquittal in a 2014 case of Naxal involvement is relevant to the Bhima Koregaon arrests (The Caravan, June 2018)

Telangana govt bans Revolutionary Writers Association, 15 other orgs

Telangana govt bans Revolutionary Writers Association, 15 other orgs

Siasat / by Yunus Y Lasania

The Telangana government on Friday banned 16 organisations, including the Revolutionary Writers Association, known as Virasam, claiming that these are frontal bodies of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), and are engaged in “tactics” that “wage war against the state”. The order was passed by chief secretary Somesh Kumar, with effect from March 30 this year.
… The Government Order also clearly states that the organisations are also being banned for demanding the release of Prof. GN Sai Baba, Rona Wilson, and writer Vara Vara Rao (who is from Virasam), who are all currently in prison with regard to the Elgar Parishad case, on allegations of conspiring to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 
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Also read: Andhra govt, Centre ‘collude’ to repeat Bhima Koregaon type case against rights activists (Counterview, April 2021)

Planted Evidence: Bombay HC to Hear Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen’s Pleas on April 29

Planted Evidence: Bombay HC to Hear Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen’s Pleas on April 29

The Wire / by pti

The activists had moved the court alleging tampering of evidence in light of the reports published by US cyber forensic firm Arsenal Consulting.
The Bombay High Court on Thursday said it will hear the petitions filed by activists Rona Wilson and Shoma Sen in the Bhima Koregaon case on April 29.
The activists had moved the court alleging tampering of evidence in light of the reports published by US cyber forensic firm Arsenal Consulting and seeking that the charges against them be quashed.
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More Proof Of Planted Evidence On Rona Wilson’s Computer / More Damning Signs of Planted Evidence

More Proof Of Planted Evidence On Rona Wilson’s Computer / More Damning Signs of Planted Evidence

Forensics Firm Finds More Proof Of Planted Evidence On Rona Wilson’s Computer: Report

21/04/2021

Medianama / by Advait Palepu

In its second report, Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm Arsenal Consulting found that a malicious software used by an attacker had planted an additional set of files on prison rights’ activist Rona Wilson’s computer. The firm said that there was no evidence that Wilson interacted with these files and documents, which are cited by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) in its charge-sheet against Wilson and others in the Bhima-Koregaon case.
The Washington Post and The Reporter’s Collective were the first to report on the findings of Arsenal Consulting.
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In Bhima-Koregaon Case, More Damning Signs of Planted Evidence

21/04/2021

Article 14 / by Shreegiresh Jalihal/THE REPORTERS’ COLLECTIVE

A new report by a leading US digital forensic company offers ‘irrefutable’ proof of arrested activist Rona Wilson’s devices being hacked and explains how 22 files were planted. These files are key evidence in the Bhima-Koregaon case, where 16 academics, lawyers, artistes are imprisoned without bail or trial.
A new report from a US-based digital forensics company has said a hacker planted 22 “incriminating” files in activist Rona Wilson’s computer, days after violence in the Maharashtra town of Bhima-Koregaon in January 2018.
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Also read:
► KEY EVIDENCE AGAINST JAILED ACTIVISTS PLANTED USING MALWARE, SAYS FORENSIC REPORT [READ REPORT] / VIDEO: PLANTED EVIDENCE? (Feb 2021)
► Prison-rights activist Rona Wilson’s hard disk contained malware that allowed remote access (The Caravan, March 2020)

Why isn’t the government looking for the source of ‘Modi assassination’ malware on Wilson’s PC?

Why isn’t the government looking for the source of ‘Modi assassination’ malware on Wilson’s PC?

Scroll.in / by N Venugopal

It wants to trace the originator of unlawful messages on apps like WhatsApp, but isn’t doing the same in the Bhima Koregaon case.
On February 25, the Union government notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Unlike the IT Rules of 2011, the new regulations include video streaming platforms and online news portals within their ambit.
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Laws Around Electronic Evidence Compromise India’s Criminal Justice System

Laws Around Electronic Evidence Compromise India’s Criminal Justice System

article14 / by Mani Chander

Police and investigative agencies currently claim unfettered access to your WhatsApp, private emails or chats with your doctor, lawyer or psychologist. Can they force you to unlock your phone and disclose passwords? In the absence of clear laws, they do what they wish.
…
Seize All You Can? The Bhima-Koregaon Case
Recent cases indicate that investigating agencies often search and seize records without demonstrating probable cause, necessity or proportionality.
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Government’s game of prosecution – prosecution as a tool to silence critics

Government’s game of prosecution – prosecution as a tool to silence critics

Frontline / by A.G. Noorani

(Print edition: March 26, 2021)
The present dispensation uses prosecution as a tool to silence critics and opponents in a way that makes the legal process a punishment in itself.
Julio Ribeiro, a prince among police officers of the highest rank, notable alike for his high integrity and superb efficiency, rendered a great service by bringing home to the Indian reader the allegations of manipulating and planting in the Bhima Koregaon case. He had heard Mark Spencer, head honcho of Arsenal Consulting, a private digital forensics company. Ribeiro had heard Spencer on an Indian national TV channel “certifying that the police in India had been taken for a ride by an extremely clever hacker”. His article in The Indian Express on February 22 is entitled “The truth is out there” under the sub-heading “Allegations of manipulating and planting evidence in Bhima Koregaon case must be investigated.
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Former civil servants urge Govt to bring legislative changes to prevent “planting” of incriminating material

Former civil servants urge Govt to bring legislative changes to prevent “planting” of incriminating material

The Leaflet / by The Leaflet

A group of former civil servants has expressed concerns at reports alleging the planting of incriminating material in Rona Wilson’s computer, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.
“The reports that the police and other investigative agencies may have violated constitutional guarantees and judicial pronouncements in the practices adopted in search and seizure operations, as well as the possibility that they may have been party to planting incriminating material in personal digital devices and harvesting evidence therefrom, have caused us grave concern”, the statement signed by former civil servants reads.
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