BK16

There Is No Case. Release the Bhima Koregaon 16 and Compensate Them https://thewire.in/rights/bhima-koregaon-arrests-activists-arsenal-report ..Professor Anand Teltumbde's incarceration in the Bhima Koregaon case had less to do with any so-called conspiracy, and more to do with his Dalit-centred Marxist politics, which was seen as a direct threat to the corporate-Manuvadi government of Modi.

A second report released on April 21, 2020 by Arsenal Computing contains more damning evidence of how files were planted on Rona Wilson's computer.
Three years have rolled by, and more than 16 prominent activists, intellectuals, social workers, lawyers, cultural artists are in prison on fabricated, false charges. a second report released on April 21, 2020, by Arsenal contains more damning evidence of how the intrusion took place and shows that 22 more files were planted. Their latest report includes data showing the hacker-attacker typing commands to deliver documents to a hidden folder on Rona Wilson’s computer – which was likened by Mark Spencer, Arsenal’s president, to the equivalent of a “videotape of someone committing a crime.”

These planted documents are not some random acts of internet hacking. These form the core of the NIA’s case against the 16 people accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. It is on the basis of these planted documents retrieved from Wilson’s computer that sensational claims were made about a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

These documents paved the way for India’s anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), to be invoked against the accused. This law allows the state to hold them prisoner for as long as they please, with scant any recourse to bail or an early trial.

BJP Govt Lies Exposed! Forensic analysis shows Rona Wilson is innocent! : https://youtu.be/eZe89x63P8E

https://caravanmagazine.in/economy/anand-teltumbde-writes-from-prison-economy-cannot-divorce-constitution   For this article, all detainees under this case are having their letters to family delayed by as much a two months, 'mulakats' refused/made difficult on flimsy grounds, please for medical attention have been rejected as "habitual complainants"

Stan Swamy : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNVibqUVZDU&feature=youtu.be

Says Stan in the transcript of his interrogation by the NIA earlier this year “I moved to Jharkhand [from Bangalore] and was associated with the JOHAR (Jharkhand Organization for Human Rights) at Chaibasa for a few years. Then I moved to Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand state, and founded Bagaicha, a Jesuit social research and training centre at Namkum, Ranchi. I have been active at Bagaicha for the last 15 years. I have been working in collaboration with people’s movements that were working against unjust displacement, human rights violations, illegal land acquisitions, and policies that were designed or amended to acquire more land, making the indigenous people landless. I have been writing and supporting the struggles for the implementation of the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitutions, implementation of the provisions of Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act, 1996 and the Samata Judgment by the Supreme Court of India and promoted the concept of ‘Owner of the land will be the owners of Minerals therein’. https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/4/19500/What-is-that-Tamil-Man-Swami-doing-in-Jharkhand-

Fr Stan Swamy: His life : PUCL press Conference #BK16 https://youtu.be/isaa0CMN4qQ

On 8th October, 2020, 83-year-old Father Stan Swamy became the 16th activists to be arrested in the Bhima-Koregaon case. Marianus Kujur, the director of XISS, Ranchi talked of Stan Swamy’s life, principles and work. He said that “Stan Swamy is not a tribal by birth, but a tribal by choice.” He has written extensively on tribal assertion and against land displacement. Stan has always stood for inclusiveness, diversity and for the poor. He raised a critical question that since 60 years, no one has ever raised such questions on him and how come he became anti-national in the last two years. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, unable to join the press conference, sent a video message. He acknowledged Stan Swamy’s work with the Adivasis and marginalised in Jharkhand since decades and strongly condemned his arrest. The Bishop of Ranchi asked why would anyone be afraid of a 83 year old activist.

https://releasesudhabharadwaj.net/

भीमा कोरेगांव सरकारी साजिश के कारण जेल में बंद 12 लोगों के समर्थन के लिए मानवाधिकार संगठन पीयूसीएल ने आज वेबीनार का आयोजन किया, जिसमें देश भर से 496 लोग जूम से और सैकड़ों लोग जुड़े।
वेबिनार के दूसरे सत्र में बोलते हुए बांबे हाई कोर्ट के जाने माने वकील और पीयूसीएल के उपाध्यक्ष मिहिर देसाई ने टर्की के वकील और मानवाधिकार कार्यकर्ता ऐब्रू टेम्टेक का उदाहरण रखा जिनकी कल जेल में भूख हड़ताल के कारण मौत हो गई। टर्की सरकार ने उन पर और 12 अन्य वकीलों पर आतंकवादी संगठन से जुड़ने का आरोप लगाकर जेल में डाल दिया और उन्हें बिना सुने सजा भी सुना दी। ऐसे ही हालात यहां भी हैं, लेकिन हमें अपने लोगों की ऐसी हालत नहीं होने देना है। उन्होंने भीमा कोरेगांव के केस को विस्तार से समझते हुए कहा हमारी सरकार इन पर कानूनी और न्यायिक हिंसा कर रही है, हमें यह लड़ाई जितनी है और मिलिंद एकभोटे और संभा जी भेडे के खिलाफ दर्ज मुकदमे को भी लड़ना है।
यह शानदार वेबिनर सवा चार घंटे तक चला जिसमें देश भर से लोगों ने भागीदारी की। यह webinar भीमा कोरेगांव केस के 2 साल पूरा होने पर 28 अगस्त से 5 सितंबर( गौरी लंकेश की हत्या के दिन) तक पीयूसीएल द्वारा आयोजित प्रतिरोध सप्ताह का हिस्सा था।
हिन्दी रिपोर्ट साभार सीमा आज़ाद

The human rights organization PUCL today organized a webinar in support of 12 people jailed due to the Bhima Koregaon government conspiracy, which was attended by 496 people from across the country and hundreds more.
Speaking in the second session of the webinar, Mihir Desai, a well-known Bombay High Court lawyer and PUCL vice-president, cited the example of Turkish lawyer and human rights activist Abru Temtek, who died in jail yesterday on a hunger strike. The Turkish government jailed him and 12 other lawyers for joining a terrorist organization and sentenced them without trial. The situation is similar here, but we must not allow our people to have such a situation. Explaining the case of Bhima Koregaon in detail, he said that our government is committing legal and judicial violence against them, we have to fight this fight as well as the case registered against Milind Ekbhote and Sambha ji Bhede.
This magnificent webinar lasted for four and a half hours in which people from all over the country participated. This webinar was part of the resistance week organized by PUCL from August 28 to September 5 (the day of Gauri Lankesh's murder) on the completion of 2 years of Bhima Koregaon case.
Hindi Report Sabar Seema Azad

https://youtu.be/FSfEuFLMZxc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL7pBILFjWo  NDTV

 भीमा कोरगांव (Bhima Koregaon) और अर्बन नक्सल (Urban Naxals) मामले में एक नया खुलासा हुआ है. आरोपियों के वकील का दावा है कि आरोपियों में से एक रोना विल्सन के लैपटॉप से मिले साजिश वाले मेल उन्होंने लिखे नहीं थे. बल्कि वो प्लांट किए गए थे. वकील मेहिर देसाई के मुताबिक पुणे कोर्ट के आदेश पर मिले हार्ड डिस्क के क्लोन को अमेरिका की अर्सनाल लैब भेजा गया. अर्सनाल की रिपोर्ट में लिखा हुआ है कि 10 मेल मालवेयर के जरिए प्लांट किए गए थे. बचाव पक्ष के मुताबिक इस रिपोर्ट से साफ है कि सबकुछ एक साजिश के तहत किया गया. इसलिए बॉम्बे हाईकोर्ट में याचिक दाखिल कर मामले को खारिज करने की मांग की गई है.-NDTV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLJfEGYbmSY

The most explosive allegation came from a letter that police said Wilson had written to a Maoist militant in which Wilson discussed the need for guns and ammunition and urged the banned group to assassinate Modi. Arsenal Consulting found that the letter — along with at least nine others — had been planted in a hidden folder on Wilson’s computer by an unidentified attacker who used malware to control and spy on the laptop. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/india-bhima-koregaon-activists-jailed/2021/02/10/8087f172-61e0-11eb-a177-7765f29a9524_story.html   An attacker used malware to infiltrate a laptop belonging to one of the activists, Rona Wilson, before his arrest and deposited at least 10 incriminating letters on the computer, according to a report from Arsenal Consulting, a Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm that examined an electronic copy of the laptop at the request of Wilson’s lawyers.

Bhima Koregaon: Key evidence against jailed activists planted using malware, says forensic report https://scroll.in/latest/986517/bhima-koregaon-key-evidence-against-accused-activists-was-planted-using-malware-says-report 

On January 1, 2018, a much larger number of Dalits came to Bhima-Koregaon to celebrate the 200th anniversary.

Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote "desecrated the samadhi of a Dalit icon near Pune on December 29, sparking the riots that engulfed Mumbai on Tuesday and could put the city in a gridlock...". https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/cover-story/the-two-who-brought-your-city-to-a-halt/articleshow/62344275.cms  The timing of their ransacking of the samadhi located in a village named Wadhu in Pune district was telling. They desecrated the Samadhi on December 29, knowing fully well that thousands of Dalits would gather on January 1 at a nearby village called Bhima-Koregaon to celebrate the anniversary of the defeat of the Peshva army at the hands of British forces comprising mainly Dalit soldiers.

A pune based Businessman, Tushar Damgude’s complaint, which the police filed as a first information report on January 8, alleged the violence that marred a Dalit commemoration at Bhima Koregaon on January 1 was instigated by leftist activists with alleged Maoist links who had spoken at a public meeting called Elgar Parishad the previous day. https://scroll.in/article/892596/im-a-small-person-meet-tushar-damgude-whose-police-complaint-sparked-the-crackdown-on-activists He accuses activists such as Sudhir Dhawale, Varavara Rao and Jignesh Mevani of spreading violent ideas and inciting Dalits to rise against the upper castes.

Read more …

 
And the future of Stan Swamy https://www.mid-day.com/news/opinion/article/and-the-future-of-stan-swamy-23249592 10 October,2022 Ajaz Ashraf |

A clash of values exists within the Church, along the fault line of socialism and capitalism . Stan - A diisident both inside the Church and outside it. He wanted the Church to assist the adivasis in their fight against government policies designed to uproot them from their lands to establish industries, build dams and a firing range. Bagaicha’s mission, in fact, was to make the adivasis aware of their constitutional rights and imbibe in them leadership skills. The 2010s saw the emergence of the Pathalgadi movement, which involved erecting stone plaques featuring extracts from the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1986, and warning outsiders to not enter their villages. Stan was a participant in the movement, often persuaded to deliver speeches.

P. M. TONY LOTIKA SINGHA 04.21.2022
Radical priest Stan Swamy was one of India’s leading social activists. Modi’s government is to blame for his death while awaiting trial on bogus terror charges, but the clampdown won’t snuff out the inspiring legacy of Swamy’s work with Adivasi communities. https://jacobinmag.com/2022/04/narendra-modi-india-false-charges-terrorism-stan-swamy-adivasi-community

Institutional Murder of Fr. Stan Swamy: Ten Opposition Leaders Write to the President Demanding Accountability https://indianexpress.com/article/india/opposition-leaders-demand-action-against-those-responsible-for-foisting-false-cases-on-stan-swamy-7391895/  Act against those responsible for foisting false cases on him, his continued detention in jail and inhuman treatment. They must be held accountable. It is now incumbent that all those jailed in the Bhima Koregaon case and other detenues under politically motivated cases, misusing draconian laws like UAPA, Sedition etc, be released forthwith,” the Opposition leaders have said in their letter to Kovind.

S Sen : It's worth noting that apart from the two usual suspects - Mayawati and Kejriwal, two more - Uddhav Thackeray and, even, Akhilesh Yadav, have, this time, opted to opt out.

 https://gaurilankeshnews.com/a-bharat-ratna-dies-an-undertrial/ 

Leo Saldanha: As a student in the 1980s, I had the privilege of participating in various discussions on social change at the Indian Social Institute. Stan was there at that time. He would hang out with various groups, gently nudging them on fine-tuning their efforts in engaging with social reform. . Stan’s precision as a trainer and researcher on advancing social transformation was in step with his compassionate determination for securing fundamental freedoms of the most vulnerable. For securing which he stridently argued implementing Constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights is a minimum. He gravitated to struggles of the Adivasis in central India, Jharkand in particular, and helped organize them to fight for their rights over their land, over their forests, over their rivers, over their bodies, to protect their cultures and their memories of the place. 

Stan fought for rights of undertrials. In the end he died an undertrial. This blot on our nation’s consciousness can never be erased. Stan Swamy led a saintly life, peaceful to the core, without any animosity.

MKSS Statement on Fr. Stan’s death

Date: 7 July, 2021

The Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) is deeply distressed by the death of Fr. Stan Swamy, who spent his entire life in the service of Jharkhand’s adivasis and other marginalized communities in India. What adds to the tragedy is the irony that a person like Fr. Stan Swamy who strived to improve the plight of under-trials died as one. The state has failed Fr. Stan Swamy in the worst possible way.

It seems clear that Fr Stan Swamy was targeted and booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) to harass and persecute him. This was to make sure that it served as an example to all Human Rights workers and defenders, so that they could be booked under terrorism charges, with impunity. It makes it even more outrageous that an octogenarian suffering from Parkinson's disease should be treated in this manner and subjected to inhuman conditions. This impacts not only the specific case of Fr Stan, but democracy itself.

It is pertinent to remember the observation of the Delhi High Court while granting bail recently to 3 CAA protestors booked under the UAPA: “We are constrained to express that it seems, that in its anxiety to suppress dissent, in the mind of the State, the line between the constitutionally guaranteed right to protest and terrorist activity seems to be getting somewhat blurred. If this mindset gains traction, it would be a sad day for democracy”.

The Authorities lost all human decency in denying Fr Stan access to basic medical necessities including sippers to drink liquids. Having arrested Fr. Stan Swamy on October 8th, 2020, the NIA did not even ask for custody for interrogation even once, let alone charge him. He was in judicial custody the entire time, without the trial even beginning. He therefore got no opportunity to prove his innocence. Being booked under UAPA he could not be given bail and as a result, for someone as ill as Fr. Stan Swamy, this process was practically a death sentence, without trial.

 As an organisation that has worked to improve accountability of the state, the MKSS demands that these draconian laws be reviewed. Fr. Stan Swamy’s case needs many kinds of critical examination to bring closure to the life and work of a person who strived for the poor and marginalised all his life. In a real democracy there has to be constant vigilance to hold state excesses and the criminal justice system, including intelligence agencies, accountable. Unjust laws need to repealed to protect the rule of law itself. The best possible way to remember Fr. Stan Swamy, who sought criminal justice reform, is to make his dream a reality