Incriminating documents planted in Stan Swamy’s system: US forensic report

A forensic firm in the United States has claimed that incriminating documents were planted in the computer of Father Stan Swamy, the 84-year-old Jesuit priest, who was arrested in the Elgar Parishad case and died in prison a year later.

According to the report by Boston-based digital forensics company Arsenal Consulting, Swamy’s system was first hacked with a spyware called NetWire after which the incriminating files were planted. The attacker reportedly tried to clear their tracks the day before police raided Swamy. The report said that 44 letters including those allegedly sent by Maoists were planted in Swamy’s system over a period of five years, from 2014 to 2019.

Also read: Stan Swamy hatched ‘conspiracy’ with Maoists to overthrow govt: NIA court

The report was submitted to a National Investigation Agency (NIA) court last week.

The Washington Post was first to publish the report of the forensic firm.

“The attacked responsible for compromising Fr Swamy’s computer had extensive resources (including time) and it is obvious that their primary goals were surveillance and incriminating document delivery. Arsenal has effectively caught the attacker red handed (yet again), based on remnants of their activity left behind in file system transactions, application execution data, and otherwise,” the report by Arsenal said.

The report said that it has significant clues on the attacker’s activities in June 11, 2019, the day before police seized Swamy’s system.

“The attacker was using NetWire to perform an extensive cleanup of their malicious activities (including crude antiforensic activity) on this day, which Arsenal has found both unique and extremely suspicious given the computer’s imminent seizure,” the report said.

According to the report, Swamy’s computer was first hacked on July 20, 2017 and the incriminating files were inserted twice between then and June 5, 2019.

The report said that not just Swamy, but similar attacks were made on the systems of his co-defendants in the Bhima Koregaon case and in other high-profile Indian cases.

Also read: Stan Swamy being provided sipper, straw in jail: Authorities

The forensic report says that one of the documents that were planted by the attacker on Swamy’s computer were part of the NIA’s chargesheet against the activist. It was allegedly sent by one “SS” (Swamy) to one “Vijayan Dada” in October 2017. In the letter SS asks Vijayan “to capture senior leaders of ruling BJP in the state and demand that the oppressive laws be done with.”

Swamy is the third Bhima Koregaon accused after Rona Wilson and Surendra Gadling whose system is suspected to have been hacked by Arsenal.

Jharkhand-based Swamy, who worked with tribals was among 16 arrested for the violence in Maharashtra’s Bhima Koregaon’s on December 31, 2017.

The NIA has accused Swamy and others including academics and human rights activists of conniving with Maoists and being part of a plot to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Also read: After NHRC notice, Stan Swamy put on ventilator support

Swamy had repeatedly denied the charges,  alleged that he was being targeted for his work against caste oppression and support for the tribal people of Jharkhand.

Swamy, who suffered from Parkinson’s disease, died of a cardiac arrest in a private hospital following a battle with COVID on July 5, 2021. He had asked for bail on medical grounds but was denied the same.