A Twist In The Elgar Parishad Case
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2021-02-11 07:12:48
About the Author
Rona Wilson, an accused in the Elgar Parishad case, has approached the Bombay High Court for quashing the case against him as a US-based firm, Arsenal Consulting, has given an "independent" forensics report claiming his computer was "compromised" for 22 months and the evidence on which the FIR was filed against him was planted using a malware. He has also demand a probe by SIT and monetary compensation for mental agony and harassment.
Government sources, however, seemed not to attach much importance to the US report. They claimed that a similar report by Regional FSL in Pune did not find any malware or other evidence of tampering. They said that other oral, documentary and technical evidence have corroborated the charges that have been levied against the accused in the case and based upon that, courts have consistently refused to give bail to the accused.
If true, this is a serious charge and the prosecution's case will fall flat in court. But it remains to be seen whether the courts (obviously after consulting subject experts) place too much reliance on the 'new' evidence. especially since it is from an outside source and contradicts the findings of the Pune lab.
The government sources also took the line that the fact that Arsenal Consulting has said that Wilson's computer was "compromised" for 22 months before his arrest showed that the timeline did not match. They said that since the Bhima Koregaon incident occurred on January 1, 2018 and Wilson was arrested only in July 2018, who would compromise his computer from 2016?
It remains to be seen what view the court takes in this matter after examining the "new' evidence (if it chooses to admit it, that is). But one thing is sure; there is more to the case than what appears on paper. The police say the accused conspired with Maoists to incite violence. They say they are researchers and academicians. Maybe they had connections with Maoists, but it will be very hard on part of the investigating agencies to prove the conspiracy theory. One feels that their continued incarceration is unjustified as several of them are old and have already suffered for long. It is not as if they will abscond, threaten witnesses or tamper with evidence. They should be given bail and the case must proceed on merits.
