Father Stan Swamy died on this day two years ago, while incarcerated in the Elgar Parishad case. His co-accused Rona Wilson writes about continuing oppression in the country – and where he finds hope.
To have spent more than five years in prison, for alleged offences under the most draconian acts of the Indian Penal Code, fully aware that the only ‘crime’ of you and your co-defendants is speaking truth to power, is an experience that is surreal. To live such a quotidian life in prison is a dystopia that stares at you. Yet you have little choice in prison but to engage with this audacity. It is through words that you confront this dystopia, name it.
Through words we name the world we confront/inhabit, and make sense of our existence. Read more
Who are the acclaimed ‘BK-16’? / HRDs and families await justice, five years down
Faulty investigation and severe loopholes in investigation, surrounds the controversial BK-16 case. International outcry has not helped move the trial five years down even while the targeted languish, families await the return of their loved ones
In June 2021, European Union parliamentarians, Nobel Laureates, renowned academics, and internationally known figures wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, the then Chief Justice of India as well as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and other authorities in India, demanding to the release of political prisoners arrested with relation to the Elgar Parishad and Bhima Koregaon incident.
Amidst contested accusations of an anti-India conspiracy, militancy, and violence, five long years have passed since the BK-16 have been imprisoned without trial. Read more
Who are the acclaimed ‘BK-16’?
22/06/2023
cjp / by CJP Team
Five years have passed, and human rights defenders (HRDs) and their families continue to await justice.
Surendra Gadling
Status: Detained without trial
Charges:Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) since June 2018
Location: Taloja Central Prison, Mumbai
Gadling is a human rights lawyer and a Dalit activist. Over time, Gadling established himself as a keen advocate and a key figure in cases related to extrajudicial killings, police misconduct, false accusations, and injustices against Dalits and Adivasis in the region… Read more
Five years behind bars for five activists – Without bail, without charges being framed, without justice!
06/06/2023
By Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)
Five years behind bars for five activists
Without bail, without charges being framed, without justice!
Release all 15-surviving accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.
June 6, 2023 will mark five years that five activists are behind bars. They include Mahesh Raut, an anti-displacement campaigner, Rona Wilson, a political prisoners’ campaigner, Shoma Sen, a feminist activist and professor, Sudhir Dhawale, a Dalit rights activist and Surendra Gadling, a lawyer who takes people’s rights cases pro-bono. Read full statement
Five Years Since The First Arrests In Bhima-Koregaon Case
06/06/2023
Countercurrents.org / by Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisation (CDRO)
6th June 2018. The nation’s conscience suffered yet another attack by the arrests of leading intellectuals and democratic rights activists by the Pune police in connection with the so-called Bhima-Koregaon (BK) case. These arrests snowballed into a series of arrests in subsequent months. Five years have passed, and barring a few activists out on bail, the arrested persons are still languishing in jail without a charge sheet being filed. Through this statement, the CDRO once again tries to remember the incidents leading to these arrests and subsequent events; so that people can unite in a struggle for the release of the BK-16 and the repeal of draconian laws. Read full statement
Five years of Bhima Koregaon arrests: CDRO marks ‘black day’
06/06/2023
The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala
It was on this day in 2018 that five activists were first arrested by the Pune police in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad Maoist links and criminal conspiracy case. To mark this day, and by means of highlighting the plight of the arrested persons, the Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisation and People’s Union for Democratic Rights have issued press statements demanding the immediate release of all the persons behind bars in connection with the case. Read more
CASR: Release activists incarcerated in Bhima Koregaon Case
07/06/2023
Countercurrents.org / by Campaign Against State Repression
June 6th became a day of one of the most audacious attack by the Brahmanical Hindutva Fascist state on the Democratic rights and political activists and began new era of rampant use of UAPA and conspiracy cases, which was, although known to the working class, the peasantry and the oppressed, have been largely unknown to the Urban democratic movement. June 6th, 2018 marks the first arrest in the infamous Bhima Koregaon ‘Conspiracy’ case, after series of raids in April 2018. The police arrested Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen and Mahesh Raut. Read full statement
Five years after arrest, Bhima Koregaon case accused yet to get copies of proof against them
05/06/2023
The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal
Special Public Prosecutor rubbished the allegation and said most of the material have been shared with them
It has been six years since Sudhir Dhawale, an activist; Surendra Gadling, a criminal lawyer practising in Nagpur; Shoma Sen, professor and Head of Department, English at Nagpur University; activists Rona Wilson and Mahesh Raut were arrested in the caste-based violence that broke out at Bhima Koregaon in Pune in 2017. Read more
By Bar & Bench (March 30):
Bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere of Bombay High Court recuses from hearing default bail pleas of Bhima Koregoan accused Mahesh Raut and 3 others.
Justice Revati Mohite Dere of Bombay HC recuses from hearing bail plea of Mahesh Raut, others
30/03/2023
India Legal / by India Legal
Justice Revati Mohite Dere of Bombay High Court on Thursday recused herself from hearing the default bail petitions of Mahesh Raut and three others, who were arrested for their alleged involvement in the Elgar Parishad Maoists links case of 2018.
Earlier on March 1, the High Court had issued notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the default bail plea of Raut, Sudhir Dhawale, Shoma Sen and Rona Wilson, who were arrested on June 6, 2018 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Read more
Bombay High Court seeks NIA response to plea by 4 accused for default bail
01/03/2023
Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi
The four accused have challenged an order of a special NIA court rejecting their default bail pleas. They sought parity with Sudha Bharadwaj, a co-accused who was granted default bail by the High Court in 2021.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on a plea for default bail filed by four persons accused in the Bhima Koregaon case [Mahesh Raut & 4 others v. National Investigation Agency]. Read more
4 accused seek bail from Bombay HC on parity with Sudha Bharadwaj
02/03/2023
India Today / by Vidya
Four accused in the Elgar Parishad case sought bail in the Bombay High Court on parity with Sudha Bharadwaj, who was granted default bail in 2021 in the same case.
The Bombay High Court has issued notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and sought a reply to the bail petition of four Elgar Parishad accused – Mahesh Raut, Sudhir Dhawale, Shoma Sen and Rona Wilson. Read more
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
by Mary Lawlor UN Special Rapporteur HRDs / @MaryLawlorhrds (Dec 15, 2022):
Extremely distressing new report by @ArsenalArmed which finds that fake evidence was planted on Stan Swamy’s computer. Stan’s detention & death are a stain on India’s human rights record. Charges against the other HRDs in Bhima Koregaon case must be dropped
Indian government asked to apologize for framing Stan Swamy
15/12/2022
Matters India / by Matters India Reporter
Catholic Church leaders have sought an “unconditional apology” from the Indian government for the custodial death of Father Stan Swamy after a US based digital forensic firm has found that the late Jesuit was falsely implicated in a sedition case.
“At least at this stage, the government and its probe agency should tender an unconditional apology to people for the unjust arrest, inhuman incarceration and custodial death of Father Swamy for no fault of his,” says Jesuit Father A Santhanam, convener of the National Lawyers Forum of Religious and Priests (NLFRP). Read more
Planting of evidence against Stan Swamy ‘blot on justice system’, say politicians, social bodies
14/12/2022
Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff
A news report claimed that a hacker planted evidence on a device owned by the tribal rights activist, who died in July last year.
Hours after a report claimed that a hacker planted evidence on a device owned by tribal rights activist Stan Swamy, several politicians, academics, activists and social organisations on Tuesday denounced the incident and described it as a “blot on the justice system”.
“Is this how a democratic country treats its own?” Congress leader Salman Anees Soz tweeted. “The courts must introspect. Is this the best they can do? Read more
Indian govt ‘must come clean on Fr Stan Swamy’s death’
14/12/2022
UCA News / by UCA News Reporter
Evidence ‘planted’ on the late Jesuit priest’s computer to ‘falsely’ implicate him in the Bhima-Koregaon case, US agency says.
Catholic activists and priests want the Indian government to “take full responsibility” for the custodial death of Jesuit Father Stan Swamy after latest findings by US-based digital forensic experts that false evidence was planted on the priest’s computer by hacking it. 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.
Incriminating document found in Fr. Stan Swamy’s computer ‘planted’; similar tampering found in other Bhima Koregaon accused: Reports American forensic firm
14/12/2022
The Leaflet / by Gursimran Kaur Kakshi
Previously, similar evidence of planting have also been found by the same firm, Arsenal, in the computer of mobile devices of Rona Wilson and Surendra Gadling, two other accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.
ON December 11, Arsenal Consulting, a United States-based digital forensic analysis firm, revealed that tribal rights activist and one of the accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case, the late Fr. Stan Swamy’s computer was compromised over the course of three distinct campaigns, beginning on October 19, 2014, and ending with the seizure of his computer by the Pune police department on June 12, 2019. Read more
Hackers planted evidence on computer of jailed Indian priest, report says
13/12/2022
The Washington Post / by Niha Masih
Father Stan Swamy died after spending more than eight months in jail on terrorism charges
For months, Father Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old Jesuit priest, claimed his innocence in courts and pleaded for medical care, but Indian authorities denied him bail. He died at a hospital in July 2021 after spending more than eight months in jail on terrorism charges.
Now, an examination of an electronic copy of his computer by Arsenal Consulting, a Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm, concludes that a hacker infiltrated his device and planted evidence, according to a new report by the company. Read more
Hackers Planted Files to Frame an Indian Priest Who Died in Custody
13/12/2022
Wired / by Andy Greenberg
And new evidence suggests those hackers may have collaborated with the police who investigated him.
The case of the Bhima Koregaon 16, in which hackers planted fake evidence on the computers of two Indian human rights activists that led to their arrest along with more than a dozen colleagues, has already become notorious worldwide. Now the tragedy and injustice of that case is coming further into focus: A forensics firm has found signs that the same hackers also planted evidence on the hard drive of another high-profile defendant in the case who later died in jail—as well as fresh clues that the hackers who fabricated that evidence were collaborating with the Pune City Police investigating him. Read more
Evidence Planted On Activist Stan Swamy’s Laptop, Claims US Report
13/12/2022
NDTV / by Aruveetil Mariyam Alavi, Sreenivasan Jain
The report blasts a hole in the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) charges against Stan Swamy.
A new report by an American forensic firm shows that multiple incriminating documents were planted in the computer of Father Stan Swamy, the 83-year-old activist-priest who was arrested for alleged terror links in 2020 and who died in custody a year later. Read more
The remaining 11 continue to languish in jail — Who are they and what is the status of the case against them?
Anti-caste writer Anand Teltumbde, who walked out of jail on Saturday, 26 November, after he was granted bail on merits in connection with the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case said:
“I am definitely happy. It has been 30 months that I have been in prison. The sad part, however, is that we had to spend time in jail after being booked in a fake case.”
In the same case, two others, poet Varavara Rao and lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj – were granted bail earlier due to different reasons, while academic Gautam Navlakha was allowed house arrest on health grounds by a 19 November Supreme Court order. Read more
Will rely on ‘historic’ verdict to secure release of Elgar Parishad case accused: Lawyer
15/10/2022
The Times of India / by Vaibhav Ganjapure
After securing acquittal for Prof GN Saibaba and four others primarily based on absence of sanction under UAPA’s Section 45 (1), his lawyers now have plan to rely on the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court’s verdict for securing the release of several accused who are also behind bars in the Elgar Elgar Parishad case. Read more
As GN Saibaba gets bail in Maoist link case, let’s recall the Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case
15/10/2022
Free Press Journal / by Urvi Mahajan
More than eight years after his arrest, the Bombay High Court on Friday acquitted former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba in an alleged Maoist links case for want of valid sanction for prosecution under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA…
With GN Saibaba getting acquitted by the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur bench on Friday, here’s a look at the other Maoist-link case which is the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case.
In the Bhima-Koregaon case, the investigation was taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2020, the initial probe being done by the Pune police. Most of the accused have spent years in custody, being arrested in August 2018. Read more
Bombay HC Frees Saibaba, Others in ‘Maoist Link’ Case
14/10/2022
The Wire / by The Wire Staff
The Nagpur bench of the high court allowed the appeal of all six convicted persons, including Pandu Narote who died in August this year.
Former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba and five others were acquitted in the Maoist links case by the Bombay high court, allowing their appeal against conviction and life sentence…
After Saibaba’s conviction, his lawyer in the lower court, Surendra Gadling; his colleague Hany Babu; and his close friend Rona Wilson were also arrested in years to come under the UAPA charges. While Gadling fought his case in court, Babu and Wilson had run a campaign for his release. All three are named as prime accused in the Elgar Parishad case of 2018. Read more
