The unravelling of a conspiracy: were the 16 charged with plotting to kill India’s prime minister framed? by Siddhartha Deb https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/12/bhima-koregaon-case-india-conspiracy-modi 12 Aug 2021 In 2018, Indian police claimed to have uncovered a shocking plan to bring down the government. But there is mounting evidence that the initial conspiracy was a fiction – and the accused are victims of an elaborate plot
If the case of the BK 16 stands out from India’s vast ranks of political prisoners, it is for the vision of India it reveals. The case of the BK 16 is not merely the Hindu right’s response to the assertion of Dalit rights around the anniversary at Bhima Koregaon. It is about the Modi government seizing the opportunity to put some very troublesome opponents behind bars, people it had long ago identified as a threat because of their commitment to civil rights and equality.
The arrests had been planned and prepared for by the establishment of a massive project of surveillance, entrapment and incarceration. That project is still alive,