The Sunday Story: An Indian Political Scandal

Starting in 2018, sixteen people were arrested in India for allegedly plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They included professors, a poet, trade unionists and members of an improv acting troupe. Even an elderly Jesuit priest.

The evidence against them, discovered on their electronic devices, appears damning: minutes of terror cell meetings, emails to banned Maoist rebels and a letter suggesting a suicide attack on Modi.

Today, fifteen defendants continue to await trial. They all say they were falsely accused and that the evidence against them was fabricated and planted by hackers in order to silence them. Digital forensic investigators not only agree but say Modi's own government may be involved.

In this episode of The Sunday Story, NPR's Lauren Frayer follows the twists and turns of what Indian police say was a complex plot to sabotage Modi's government, and that defendants say was a setup. One of the defendants, the Rev. Stan Swamy, died while fighting to clear his name.

This episode was produced by Justine Yan and edited by Jenny Schmidt. Audio engineering by James Willetts.

We'd love to hear from you. Send us an email at TheSundayStory@npr.org. Listen to Up First on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.