The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Evidence found on a second Indian activist’s computer was planted, report says

July 6, 2021 at 6:30 a.m. EDT
Clashes break out in 2018 between two groups during celebrations in Bhima Koregaon village, India. Authorities later arrested prominent activists, alleging they had incited a riot. (AFP/Getty Images)

NEW DELHI — The two activists were jailed in 2018 and accused of plotting an insurgency against the government. A new forensic report concludes they also shared something else: They were both victims of the same hacker who planted evidence on their computers.

The finding raises fresh doubts about a case that rights groups consider an effort to crack down on critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. More than a dozen activists have been imprisoned without trial under a stringent anti-terrorism law that rarely results in convictions.