'Nine human rights defenders, most of whom have been fighting for the release of the Bhima Koregaon 11 through litigation, research, or activism, were unlawfully targeted with a spyware attack... Amnesty International and the Citizen Lab have uncovered a coordinated spyware campaign targeting at least nine human rights defenders (HRDs) in India. Eight of the nine HRDs have been calling for the release of other prominent activists, popularly known as the Bhima Koregaon 11, most of whom have been imprisoned in Maharashtra, India since 2018.
'The percentage of deaths from COVID-19 in Gujarat is among the highest in the country, even as the number of tests remains among the lowest, government denials to the contrary notwithstanding. Numbers apart, the fact that the state was consistently trying to cut down on testing got some credence when on 10 May, it made mandatory for all private hospitals to get government approval before testing patients, who are admitted for other ailments, for the coronavirus...'
'Even as the Supreme Court has asked the Central and state governments to facilitate the return of migrants to their home states in a fortnight’s time, initial data on reverse migration triggered by the national lockdown has shown that more than 67 lakh such people have already reached their home across 116 districts from various urban centres...'
'In a grim reminder of the 2016 Una flogging incident, three other oppressed caste men were tied up, beaten, forcefully tonsured and paraded around with shoes hung around their necks in Lucknow’s Barauli Khalilabad village... The incident happened on 4 June after the three men - one belonging to the OBC and the other two belonging to Scheduled Castes - were allegedly caught stealing a fan from a house of a 'Brahmin man', the local police told The Quint...'
'...A faint glimmer of hope emerged in early May. Application forms were distributed in Bajardiha, with the promise that weavers would get cash assistance under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, the Central government’s relief package announced on March 24. About 350 people filled the form in Bajardiha, said the men. A few days later, a list circulated with the names, addresses, bank account numbers, Aadhaar numbers, mobile numbers of those whose applications had presumably been approved. At this stage, they were asked to pay Rs 100.
'A key element of the Delhi Police’s investigation into the communal violence in Northeast Delhi is its claim that the riots were part of a “well-hatched” conspiracy. And at the core of its conspiracy theory, lies an alleged meeting that took place on 8 January at Shaheen Bagh. The Quint has accessed two charge sheets submitted by the Delhi Police, both related to the violence in the Chand Bagh area.
'A city civil and sessions court has rejected the bail application filed by Amulya Leona in relation to a sedition case registered by the city police for raising pro-Pakistan slogans during the anti-CAA rally held here in February... The grounds taken by counsel of Amulya for seeking bail, the judge said, “The points which have been raised by the petitioner are to be considered at the time of the full-fledged trial. If the petitioner is granted bail, she may abscond. Therefore, the bail petition of the petitioner is liable to be rejected."...'
'At least 460 people have died of Covid-19 in Chennai till June 8, which is more than double the 224 announced by the directorate of public health (DPH), a scrutiny of the city corporation death registry has found...'
'While Muslims and their properties were disproportionately targeted during the communal violence that engulfed India’s national capital between February 25 and 28, a 700-page charge sheet filed by the Delhi Police in a case related to the murder of an Intelligence Bureau official attempts to create a different narrative: it suggests that Hindus were provoked to respond to Muslims. Of the 53 people killed during the two-and-a half days of rioting, 38 were Muslim. Fourteen mosques and a dargah were attacked...'
'It’s become a new normal in Indian politics for students and activists to be incarcerated across India for expressing dissent and being vocal about certain actions and policies of the Narendra Modi government. The draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act – UAPA – has been clamped on almost all such persons, even for the flimsiest of charges...
