A recent forensics report has found that key evidence was “planted” on the computer of advocate Surendra Gadling, one of the accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, reports claimed.
According to a report published by The Washington Post, US-Based digital forensics firm Arsenal Consulting revealed that Gadling’s computer was infected with NetWire, a commercially available form of malware, for nearly two years before his arrest.
Gadling was arrested by the Pune police in June 2018 in connection with the violence that broke out at Bhima Koregaon in 2017. Gadling has remained lodged in the Taloja central prison in Navi Mumbai since then awaiting trial.
Earlier, Arsenal Consulting had published a report stating that activist Rona Wilson’s laptop was infiltrated through the same malware post which at least 10 incriminating letters were planted on his laptop, 22 months before the Pune Police raided the activist’s residence and arrested him.
Wilson was also arrested in Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case. He was taken into custody in June 2018 following several raids at his residence in Delhi by the Pune police, which probed the case before it was handed over to the NIA.
Before his arrest, the police claimed to have found several incriminating material on Wilson’s computer, including a letter that he had allegedly written talking of the "need for arms, and a plan to overthrow the current government".
The police have claimed that some activists including Rona Wilson, Gautam Navlakha, Anand Teltumbde and others made inflammatory speeches and provocative statements at the Elgar Parishad meet held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which triggered violence the next day at Koregaon Bhima village in the district. The police have also alleged that the event was backed by some banned Maoist groups.
