Probe claims of Rona Wilson’s laptop being hacked: Sudha Bharadwaj's family and friends

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US cyber forensics firm Arsenal Consulting released a second report on April 24, 2021 reaffirming that ‘incriminating documents’ were planted in Bhima-Koregaon co-accused Rona Wilson’s computer through external malware. Among these documents is crucial evidence used in the prosecution of other co-accused Sudha Bharadwaj.

Following findings that the document was remotely planted, a group called Sudha Bharadwaj’s Family & Friends demanded an immediate investigation by an independent, high-powered technical committee to look into the claims of the report in a time-bound manner.

“We denounce the blatant misuse of executive power by the State to imprison her based on fabricated documents. Until such an independent examination is completed, those accused, given their age and the surging virus attack should be released, such that their precious lives are safeguarded,” they said.

Activist Bharadwaj is nearly 60-years-old and suffers from morbidities of hypertension and diabetes, making her extremely vulnerable to coronavirus. Yet, her bail application on the basis of medical grounds was rejected in 2020. Her continued imprisonment is a cruel farce, said members of the group.

Further, members said the report substantiated longstanding claims of innocence since the first raid in Bharadwaj’s house on August 28, 2018. In the first interim report, the Massachusetts-based consulting company confirmed that a sophisticated hacker ‘deposited’ 10 letters in Wilson’s laptop. The second report further confirmed the remote ‘implant’ of 22 documents by the same unknown hacker using Netwire malware in a sophisticated exercise. A detailed story examining the Arsenal Report was carried by The Washington Post in the US and by Article 14 in India.

Moreover, while examining the device, Arsenal Consulting said that Wilson’s computer was “compromised for over 22 months” and that the same attacker was responsible for tampering with devices of several other co-accused over a continued period of four years.

“This has reference to the 2019 and 2020 investigations carried out by the Canadian group, Citizen’s Lab, and Amnesty International which had found that many of the devices of lawyers and colleagues of accused in this case were targets of the malicious malware Pegasus, and also emails carrying Netwire malware,” said the group.

Friends and family stated that such serious claims demand closer scrutiny by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) that is nowadays investigating the matter. In fact, members said that the NIA should have welcomed this report and immediately swung into action to verify findings. On the other hand, a refusal to further examine this report was called “deeply disturbing and frightening for the citizenry”. It raises serious questions on the State’s intent in deliberately overlooking claims of such a vast and disturbing operation involving sophisticated cyber-attacks, they said.

Another concern of members was the arrival of the report in the backdrop of the second wave of Covid-19 sweeping Maharashtra jails. Recent reports suggest that 40 inmates of Mumbai’s Byculla Women’s prison were Covid-19 positive, including Kabir Kala Manch cultural activist Jyoti Jagtap, one of the 16 activists accused in the case.

Concerned citizens said that it is inhuman on the part of the administration to continue the incarceration of these persons for trumped-up charges and on the basis of documents whose evidentiary value is in doubt.