Stan Swamy Third Bhima Koregaon Accused On Whose Device Evidence Was Planted; ‘Slingshot Was My Weapon, Cell Phone and Laptop Are Yours’

Imports from China doubled between Galwan and Tawang, Yangtse clash imminent from October, Census in suspended animation amid demands for caste census, ‘Modiabind’ clouding vision of youth in Bihar

A newsletter from The Wire & Galileo Ideas | Contributors: MK Venu, Seema Chishti, Siddharth Varadarajan, Sidharth Bhatia, Sushant Singh and Tanweer Alam | Editor: Pratik Kanjilal

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Snapshot of the day

December 14, 2022

Pratik Kanjilal

Forensic analysis by US-based Arsenal Consulting has established that the device of Stan Swamy, the 84-year-old Jesuit priest who died in jail ― it is often described as a judicial murder ― was hacked and evidence planted on it. He is the third defendant in the Bhima Koregaon case known to have had documents planted on his device. There were 44 plants in Stan Swamy’s case, dropped from 2014 to 2019, before his arrest in 2020. Arsenal Consulting’s report says that the same unidentified hacker also planted 30 documents in Rona Wilson’s computer and 14 in Surendra Gadling’s computer. Pleas by Wilson and Gadling, who have alleged that they were hacked and framed, with supporting evidence, await a hearing. They were arrested on June 6, 2018, and remain in jail with no word on when their trial will take place.

The India-China clash at Yangtse in Arunachal last Friday that left 34 Indian and nearly 40 Chinese soldiers injured was building up since early October, when the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) doubled its troops along its side of the LAC, reports The Tribune. “The PLA was targeting the Indian outpost in the contested area called Yanki, within the Yangtse area. Parts of Yanki are claimed by both sides.” The Indian Army post at Yanki was attacked by a 300-strong unit of the PLA and it was not a routine patrol. The Indian outpost faces Chinese posts 1,000 metres away. The attempt was to dislodge the Indian side from Yanki.

The India-China clashes issue led to an opposition walkout in Parliament today. In a rare show of unity, 18 opposition parties earlier met at the invitation of the Congress to demand a discussion on the Tawang situation in the House – a request rejected by the Speaker on procedural grounds.

The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has recommended the names of five High Court judges for elevation to the apex court. They are Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court Pankaj Mithal, Chief Justice of the Patna High Court Sanjay Karol, Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court PV Sanjay Kumar, judge of the Patna High Court Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and judge of the Allahabad High Court Justice Manoj Misra.

Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan walked a few kilometres on the Bharat Jodo Yatra this morning. The Bharat Jodo Yatra is set to celebrate 100 days on Friday, with less than 800 km of the daunting 3,570 km left.

Banks have written off bad loans worth Rs 10,09,511 crore in the last five financial years, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Parliament yesterday. Banks have recovered only Rs 1,32,036 crore from written-off loan accounts in the period, she said. 

“We are really surviving on a day to day basis. Salaries are the same but expenses [are] at least double.” BBC meets the Indian middle classes badly hit by inflation.

After protesting for nearly seven months in Jammu seeking their transfer from the Valley following targeted killings, Kashmiri Pandit and reserved category employees have dared the Lieutenant Governor and top government officials to enter Kashmir without security. They “are accusing the government of using the employees for political gains”, reports The Tribune.

Supreme Court Justice Bela M Trivedi has recused herself from hearing Bilkis Bano’s plea challenging the premature release of the 11 men convicted for gang-rape and the murder of her kin during the 2002 Gujarat riots. The matter was listed before a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela Trivedi. Justice Trivedi, who is from Gujarat, gave no reason; now, it must be listed before another bench, further delaying the hearing.

Dozens of old temples and shops are likely to be demolished in Ayodhya to widen the Ram Path, the road leading to the Ram Temple being built on the site of the Babri Masjid demolished by Hindutva goons three decades ago, as devotees throng the town. Opposition among the city’s seers is muted, but the traders are vocal. The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, which is overseeing the temple-building, had said that the idols of Ram Lalla would be installed in the sanctum sanctorum in January 2024, and the temple would be thrown open. The timing coincides with the onset of the next general elections.

There is no better example than the second international airport at Goa, recently inaugurated by PM Modi, of how wilful ignorance, disrespect for science and weak regulation impact nature. Meanwhile, India is negotiating with other countries for a new global agreement on biodiversity. 

India has condemned the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha’s visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and his comments on Jammu and Kashmir. “Let me reiterate that OIC has no locus standi in matters related to J&K, which is an integral and inalienable part of India. Any attempt of interference and meddling in India’s internal affairs by OIC and its Secretary General is completely unacceptable,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. He also called the OIC a “mouthpiece of Pakistan”. Whatever was won diplomatically when former foreign minister Sushma Swaraj addressed an OIC session to cock a snook at Pakistan is lost in this outburst.

Demands for a caste census are getting louder. The Centre yesterday said three state governments ― in Bihar, Maharashtra and Odisha ― and a few organisations have requested it to collect caste details in the forthcoming Census.

The Kerala Assembly yesterday passed a bill to remove the governor from the position of chancellor of the state’s universities.

Marathi author Anand Karandikar yesterday announced he would return his state award in protest against the Maharashtra government withdrawing an award for a Marathi translation of the memoir of alleged former Maoist ideologue Kobad Ghandy by author Anagha Lele. Karandikar said the government’s move to take back the award for Ghandy’s book is the “absolute gagging of freedom of thoughts and freedom of expression”.

A day after a man accused of violence died in CBI custody in West Bengal's Birbhum district, his wife claimed on Tuesday that he was “murdered” by agency officials, who had earlier demanded Rs 50 lakh to clear his name. Reshma Bibi yesterday morning filed a formal police complaint. CBI has termed the allegations “baseless”.

The Tamil film Witness, which released on OTT platforms last week, helmed by new director Deepak and screenwriters Muthuvel and JP Sanakya, narrates the powerful and heartbreaking story about the death of Parthiban, 20, caused by manual scavenging. The film has garnered praise on social media for its accurate and realistic portrayal of the problem. However, it is interesting that cinematographer-turned-director Deepak uses the word ‘fantasy’ while describing the film. “We are only imagining what would happen if the victim’s family fights, because in reality they lack the resources to do so,” Deepak says.

Filmmaker and writer Saeed Mirza tells Seema Chishti where the protagonists of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron would be today: “They would be in jail for sedition. We seem to be moving backward now at a furious pace. We always thought we would overcome these hiccups with freedom and the Constitution, but it is very frightening where we are now.” 

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It’s confirmed: Census in suspended animation

The Modi government has finally spoken on