Catholic activists and priests want the Indian government to “take full responsibility” for the death in custody of Jesuit Father Stan Swamy after forensic experts found US-based digital agency planted false evidence on the priest’s computer.
In a recent report, Arsenal Consulting, a digital forensics firm based in Massachusetts, said that “digital evidence used to arrest prominent human rights defender Father Swamy in the case Bhima-Koregaon was buried on his computer’s hard drive.”
The 84-year-old Jesuit, a religious activist based in the eastern state of Jharkhand, died in a hospital during his stay in Mumbai in July 2021 after being denied admission. for health reasons, even when suffering from age-related diseases.
He was arrested on October 8, 2020, by India’s anti-terror National Investigation Agency and accused of being a member of a conspiracy alleged by banned Maoist rebels to unleash violence in Bhima- Koregaon, in the western state of Maharashtra, Jan. 2018.
Ucanews.com Arsenal said that “the attacker responsible for changing Father Swamy’s computer has a lot of resources (including time), and it appears that the primary goals are to scan and file documents.” .”
Giving details of the findings, Jesuit Father Joseph Xavier said in a statement that “hackers first attacked Father Swamy’s computer on October 19, 2014, using a Trojan Remote Access (RAT) called Netwire.”
“The report (by Arsenal) shows examples of hackers being able to read his passwords when he typed them, as well as other documents and emails,” said Father Xavier , which was also put together by Father Stan Swamy Legacy Committee of the Jesuits.
The hacker also read 24,000 files on Father Stan’s device and buried the files between July 2017 and June 2019, Father Xavier said, citing the report.
“More than 50 files were created on Father Swamy’s hard drive, including incriminating documents that made links between Father Stan and the Maoist insurgency. The last indictment was planted on Father Stan’s computer on June 5, 2019, a week before the attack,” he said.
It was because of these buried documents that Father Swamy was first arrested, although experts are raising serious doubts about the authenticity of the documents, said Father Xavier.
Speaking to the President of Arsenal Consulting, Mark Spencer, Father Xavier said: “The extent of what Father Swamy and some of his co-accused have achieved, in terms of looking at their electronics have stopped charging documents during the year, which has not been seen before.”
Father Xavier, in the statement, said that Arsenal successfully caught the attacker, based on the rest of their work left in the archives, application execution data and others. yes. However, he did not reveal the details of the hackers, who are believed to be affiliated with the state, he added.
A forensic analysis has identified the hackers who attacked Father Swamy’s computer as those who hacked and planted digital evidence on the computers of the accused in the case, Rona Wilson and Surendra Gadling .
The statement added that there is a lot of information about the hackers who are believed to be in the Indian state.
“Cyber Sentinel One security agency has already investigated the attackers and determined that their ‘operations are closely related to India’s state interests,'” the statement added.
Ucanews.com reports that Jesuit Father A. Santhanam, the national representative of the National Lawyers Forum of Religious and Priests, has confirmed that “Father Swamy was wrongly accused by the investigating agency by introducing the report made.”
He wondered if the federal government would reveal its own agencies about the case, but said the world has a right to know who hacked Father Swamy’s computer.
“As a first remedy, the government and its ministry should send an unconditional apology for the death of the old Jesuit in prison,” said Father Santhanam.
He said the government should take full responsibility and compensate for the loss of life, besides releasing the accused and jailed in the Bhima-Koregaon case.
Bhima-Koregaon is a village in Maharashtra that has come to symbolize the bravery of Dalits or the untouchables, who gathered there to commemorate a 200-year war victory in January. 1 per year.
In 2018, violence erupted in Bhima-Koregaon when a group carrying saffron flags entered the square and attacked Dalits who had gathered for the annual victory celebrations.
However, investigators said the violence was the handiwork of Maoist rebels and arrested 16 activists, saying they were directly involved in the rebellion.
“The main evidence that the NIA is relying on is the so-called incriminating evidence found in computers and laptops, which belong to Father Swamy. Now the forensic evidence has broken this. lie,” said Father Santhanam.
Father Swamy has repeatedly denied knowing the evidence found in his computer.
“Until his death, Father Swamy maintained that he was innocent, but it was too late now,” Father Santhanam said while appealing to the federal government and his judiciary to release him. to all claims against other defendants in the case and pay them. because of the hardships and burdens they and their families face.