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Dear Reader,
In January of 2018, 16 people were incarcerated for allegedly fomenting violence on the eve of the gathering of tribals to mark the Battle of Bhima Koregaon in the Pune district of Maharashtra. ThePrint reports, quoting the Wired, that at least three of them -- activist Rona Wilson, poet Varavara Rao and Delhi University Professor Hany Babu, charged under the dreaded UAPA -- were victims of the police’s perfidy, where their computers were “hacked” to plant “fabricated evidence” of their alleged sedition.
Surveys record that in India, since 2016, 99 RTI activists have died, 170 assaulted and 186 of them threatened and harassed for reaching out to exercise their right to information. Now, as Article 14 reports, Madhya Pradesh is joining the ranks of the states that have become noxious for RTI activists and whistle-blowers.
Nagaland is set to roll out a facial recognition technology (FRT) to monitor teacher attendance across all public schools in the state and issued a tender notification in March, which has now been taken down. MediaNama points out that the tender not only severely breaches the right to privacy but allows third-party developers to access the personal and facial data of thousands of teachers, raising questions about data theft and state surveillance.
And, Down To Earth reports that a study by a DRDO lab found that low-quality of materials, lax rules and faulty designs are responsible for the recent spate of fires in electric scooters. It also looks at what it will take to put out these fires and ensure safety in the growing EV market.
For more such stories from the grantees this week, please read on.
Warmly,
Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF
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