After latest findings by US-based digital forensic report, once again Fr. Stan Swamy’s case has triggered widespread reactions across India.

Arsenal Consulting, a Boston-based digital forensics firm, in a recent report, said the “digital evidence used to arrest senior human rights defender Father Swamy in the Bhima-Koregaon case was planted on his computer’s hard drive.” The digital firm further states that several incriminating documents including alleged letters of banned Maoist armed group that aims to dethrone the Indian government were planted by a hacker.

The 84-year-old Jesuit priest, a Human Rights Activist working in tribal populated Indian states especially in Jharkhand was arrested on Oct. 8, 2020 by National Investigation Agency. He was arrested from Ranchi for his alleged involvement in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence. He died as an undertrial in Mumbai on July 5, 2021. While in jail he denied his links with Maoists, refused terrorism charges and claimed his innocence.

According to Arsenal, they “found no evidence which would suggest that the… documents were ever interacted with in any legitimate way on Fr. Swamy’s computer. More specifically, there is no evidence which would suggest any of the (planted) documents, or the hidden 22 folders they were contained in, were ever opened” by Swamy.

This new report by American Forensic Firm has provoked outrage across the country including in the Indian Parliament. Some of the members of Opposition party displayed placards demanding ‘Justice for Stan Swamy’.

The findings by Arsenal indicate that Fr. Swamy was systematically targeted and accused for raising his voice for the tribals and downtrodden. The Forensic Report entrenches the optimistic approach for Fr. Swamy to uphold his innocence concurrently.