Left: Pastor Stan Swami speaks to the camera in a 2020 video shortly before his arrest. Right: A person walks past the church where a memorial mass was held after Pastor Swami’s death in Mumbai, India, in July 2021.
Screenshot: NPR/Mojo Story/Rafiq Maqbool/AP
Hide caption
Toggle caption
Screenshot: NPR/Mojo Story/Rafiq Maqbool/AP
Left: Pastor Stan Swami speaks to the camera in a 2020 video shortly before his arrest. Right: A person walks past the church where a memorial mass was held after Pastor Swami’s death in Mumbai, India, in July 2021.
Screenshot: NPR/Mojo Story/Rafiq Maqbool/AP
Since 2018, 16 people have been arrested in India in connection with plots to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including a professor, a poet, a trade unionist, an improvisational theatre group and even an elderly Jesuit priest.
The evidence found on their electronic devices was incriminating, including minutes of terrorist meetings, emails to banned Maoist rebels and a letter suggesting a suicide attack on Prime Minister Modi.
Fifteen defendants are currently awaiting trial. They all claim they were falsely accused and that the evidence against them was fabricated and planted by hackers to silence them. Digital forensic investigators not only agree but also say the Modi government itself may be involved.
In this episode Sunday StoryNPR’s Lauren Frayer follows the twists and turns of a case that Indian police say was a complex plot to sabotage the Modi government and that the defense alleges was a trap. One of the defendants, the Rev. Stan Swami, has died while fighting to clear his name.
This episode was produced by Justin Yang and edited by Jenny Schmidt. Audio engineering was by James Willett.
We’d love to hear from you. Email us at TheSundayStory@npr.org. Listen to Up First Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
