Evidence ‘planted’ in Rona Wilson’s laptop: US digital forensics firm

Rights: Writer and activist Rona Wilson’s laptop was hacked at least 22 months before the Pune police raided his residence in New Delhi and arrested him in the Bhima-Koregaon case, according to a report by US-based digital forensics firm, Arsenal Consulting.

The firm, which was asked by Wilson’s lawyers to examine an electronic copy of his laptop’s hard disk—the one in which the Pune police claimed to have found incriminating documents—said there was proof that 10 letters were planted in the activist’s laptop, US daily Washington Post reported.

“This is one of the most serious cases involving evidence tampering that Arsenal has ever encountered,” the report said, highlighting the long duration—nearly two years—between the time the laptop was first compromised till  the attacker planted the last incriminating document.

While Wilson and four others were initially arrested in the Bhima-Koregaon case in June 2018 and accused of having links with the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist, the police later said that they found letters from a suspected Maoist in Wilson’s laptop revealing a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On February 10th, Wilson’s lawyers included Arsenal’s report in a petition filed in the High Court of Bombay urging judges to dismiss the case against their client.

According to the report, in June 2016, Wilson received several emails that appeared to be from a fellow activist he knew well. The friend urged him to click on a link to download a statement from a civil liberties group. Instead, the report says, the link deployed NetWire, a commercially available form of malicious software, that allowed a hacker to access Wilson’s device.

Arsenal recovered file system information showing the attacker creating a hidden folder to which at least 10 incriminating letters were delivered. It found no evidence that this folder was ever opened by Wilson or anyone else.

Read this article describing the challenges that lie ahead for the civil society.

Fundraising & Communications: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a circular extending the validity of FCRA registration certificates to September 30th, 2021. This applies to all FCRA licences that have expired or will expire between September 29th, 2020 and May 31st, 2021. The decision to extend the deadline has been driven by the exigencies arising from the COVID-19 situation.

FCRA refers to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010, which permits charitable organisations based in India to raise funds from foreign sources.

The order also clarified that nonprofits that have already opened an account and have the requisite permission to receive foreign aid, can henceforth receive it only in these newly-opened accounts.

The FCRA law was amended in September 2020 to include a clause that mandated that all nonprofits receiving foreign aid must necessarily open an account in State Bank of India’s New Delhi Main Branch. The government had initially set the deadline for this account opening as March 31st, 2021; it later extended it to June 30th, 2021 after several nonprofits argued in court that there had been delays because necessary approvals from MHA had not been received.

Several organisations have not been able to receive foreign funds during the crisis caused by the second wave, and this has impacted their COVID-19 relief efforts. Relaxing the foreign funding rules could significantly help organisations ramp up their operations to help individuals, supply critical healthcare equipment, and respond to communities in rural areas.

Read this article to know how amending the FCRA can have unforeseen implications.

Philanthropy & CSR: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has issued a circular that allows corporate spending on health infrastructure for COVID-19 care to qualify as corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure.

This includes setting up medical oxygen generation and storage plants, manufacturing and supply of oxygen concentrators, ventilators, cylinders, and other medical equipment to counter COVID-19.  

The announcement comes at a time when all efforts are being directed towards expediting efforts to support the country’s healthcare infrastructure.

According to the circular, companies can now undertake projects and activities in collaboration with other companies using CSR funds. Additionally, they can contribute to specified research and development projects, as well as publicly funded universities and certain organisations that conduct research in science, technology, engineering, and medicine.

The government had earlier clarified that setting up makeshift hospitals and temporary COVID-19 care facilities would also be considered a CSR activity. Rajesh Verma, the Corporate Affairs Secretary, has requested businesses to consider converting vacant office buildings into COVID-19 facilities to cater to the rapidly increasing caseload.

Read this article to understand why media attention on COVID-19 deaths due to lack of oxygen in big cities has skewed donor priorities.