Perception Survey for 2023 Corruption Research Project in India

India Corruption Research Report 2023 (ICRR 2023)

After releasing the India Corruption Research Report 2022 (ICRR 2022) in October 2022, RMN Foundation - which is a humanitarian initiative of RMN News Servicehas launched the India Corruption Research Report 2023 (ICRR 2023) project.

This survey is part of our ongoing research project to compile a comprehensive report ICRR 2023 on corruption in India. You can participate in the following survey and click here to know the details of the project.

Is India a corrupt country?

Yes No

Are you affected by corruption in India?

Yes No

Who is mainly responsible for corruption in India?

Bureaucrats

Politicians

Private Companies

What is the impact of corruption in India?

Death of Democracy

Human Rights Violations

Inflation

Injustice

Poverty

Hunger

Unemployment

Are Indian anti-corruption agencies working honestly?

Yes No

Are corrupt Indian bureaucrats and politicians punished suitably?

Yes No

Is there a criminal nexus between business oligarchs and top politicians in India? Yes No

Are Indian courts handling corruption cases effectively?

Yes No

Should Indian corruption crimes be prosecuted in international courts?

Yes No

Is imprisonment a sufficient punishment for corruption crimes?

Yes No

[ You can click here to know more about the survey. ]

Rakesh Raman

NATO Reiterates Commitment to Stand with Ukraine

Allies experts are helping Ukraine to document and evidence the horrific crimes committed.

NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, delivered a message of solidarity to the Ukrainian people on 24 February 2023, one year since Russia launched its illegal full-fledged invasion of Ukraine.

In a message recorded to broadcast on Ukrainian television, the Secretary General said, "NATO will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes."

Speaking at NATO Headquarters, Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană said that NATO has been Ukraine’s partner since it first gained independence over thirty years ago and NATO will continue to stand with Ukraine. Mr. Geoană was addressing a ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of the launch of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, opening an exhibition of photos and videos on war crimes committed by the invaders, organized by NATO Allies Romania and Poland with the support of the Head of Mission of Ukraine to NATO.

The Deputy Secretary General said that the images on display were a reminder of Putin’s brutality, his utter disregard for human life and his “determination to destroy Ukraine and overturn the international rules-based order”. Allies experts are helping Ukraine to document and evidence the horrific crimes committed. The Netherlands will establish a special investigation in The Hague. “Those responsible must be held to account,” he said.

The Deputy Secretary General stressed that the images in the exhibition also showed a nation “standing tall,” brave armed forces putting their lives on the line, and “proud people who will not be defeated”.

Appeal for Donations

As I have launched a comprehensive research project to compile an exclusive report on corruption in India, you are requested to support this project financially with your donations You can click here to know more about this project and details for donations Thank You

Rakesh Raman

Crime, Corruption, and Impunity in India

Politicians, bureaucrats, police, and judges have formed a criminal gang in India The following cases depict how they collude with criminals and commit crimes and corruption with impunity while the ordinary citizens are suffering Click the following links for details.

Cabinet Secretariat Case Ministry of HomeAffairs (MHA) Case

Prime Minister Office (PMO) Case Delhi Lokayukta Case

DoPTCase CBI Case

Economic Offences Wing (EOW) Case Supreme Court Case

Delhi Govt Case Delhi Petitions Committee / CVC Case

NHRC Case School Education Case

Environmental Crime Case Lokpal Removal Case

Judicial Corruption Case RCS Corruption Case

AAPCorruption Case Widehouse Scandal

NHRC Case at UN HRC IAS Group Corruption Case

CPGRAMS Cases PGMS Cases

IAS Corruption Record UNCAC Petition

Delhi Police Case DoPTProcesses

RCS RTI Violations DDACorruption Case

Petitions and Representations by Rakesh Raman Up to January 2023

Arrested Delhi Minister Manish Sisodia Must Be Kept in a Harsh Detention Camp

Sisodia and his accomplice Satyendar Jain should be incarcerated in a harsh detention camp or a concentration camp outside Delhi so that they do not enjoy the luxurious treatment in Delhi’s Tihar jail.

A politician Manish Sisodia - who belongs to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of Delhi chief minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal - has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Sisodia has been under investigation for a massive liquor scam and the central agency had asked him to face the interrogation on February 26 after which he was arrested.

In a statement released on February 26, CBI said that Sisodia was arrested because he gave evasive replies and did not cooperate in the investigation despite being confronted with evidence.

Reports suggest that Sisodia was produced in a court on February 27 and the court has granted a 5-day custody to the CBI for his further interrogation so that other culprits in the criminal network could also be caught, convicted, and jailed.

It is likely that soon other AAP politicians - including Kejriwal - may be jailed for various crimes and acts of corruption that they may be committing secretly. In fact, under the Kejriwal government, Delhi has become the corruption capital of India.

Similarly, AAP politicians in Punjab led by CM Bhagwant Mann may be arrested and jailed as Sisodia’s dubious Delhi liquor policy is being implemented in Punjab also. The president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Sukhbir Singh Badal has urged the

Punjab Governor to hold a probe into the alleged Rs. 500-crore liquor policy scam committed by the AAP Government in the state.

Imprisonment Of Aap Politicians

Sisodia - who is a prime accused in the liquor scandal - shamelessly went in a procession to the CBI office on February 26 with a crowd of AAP supporters who shouted slogans in his favour as if he is a champion in some competition.

In a dramatic manner, Sisodia also went to Raj Ghat - a memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi in Delhi - to ostensibly show that he follows the truthful path of Mahatma Gandhi and he is innocent in this case.

Instead of showing proof of his innocence, Sisodia and his accomplices in AAP are resorting to all sorts of deceptive tricks to mislead the investigating agencies which are probing the liquor scandal and other scams in which Sisodia is allegedly involved.

Surprisingly, Sisodia also said that he is not afraid of going to jail, because he knows that jails provide all types of luxurious facilities to top politicians who are imprisoned for their crime and corruption cases.

Another jailed Delhi Government minister Satyendar Jain - who is a colleague of Sisodia - is enjoying a VIP treatment including full-body massage inside the jail cell. AAP politician Jain was sent to jail last year for his alleged involvement in a serious money laundering case.

Obviously, Sisodia is not scared of going to jail because jail is a kind of picnic spot for AAP leaders. There is also a possibility that in the night when other prisoners are locked inside their cells, the corrupt politicians are released by corrupt jail officials so that they could enjoy nightlife and come back to jail after a few hours. In fact, conventional imprisonment is not the right punishment for corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. They should rather be caged in a prison such as the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, which is a U.S. military prison known for its harsh treatment of prisoners.

False Statements

Earlier, in a tweet written in Hindi, Sisodia had said on February 18 that the CBI had summoned him for questioning. Without any substantiation, he added in his tweet that the law-enforcement agencies failed to find any proof of his wrongdoing and he is being stopped from providing education in schools.

Sisodia - who is an education minister in the Kejriwal government - has been trying to hide behind school education which is so bad in Delhi that the students fail to learn anything in schools that could help them in their careers. Sisodia has destroyed the careers of millions of students as he failed to provide quality education in schools.

Now, instead of telling the truth about the liquor scam, Sisodia is mischievously diverting the topic to school education although he is the prime accused in the liquor scandal.

Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) - which investigates serious financial crime cases – had revealed that 140 mobile phones were changed by over 30 persons allegedly involved in the liquor scam of Delhi.

The ED claimed in a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in November last year that Sisodia and others involved in the excise / liquor scam have changed a total 140 phones with the intention to destroy digital evidence during the relevant period. The value of these phones is estimated to be Rs 1.20 crore.

Sisodia has been telling lies to escape the legal dragnet. After attending a CBI hearing on October 17 last year in this case, Sisodia claimed without any evidence that CBI asked him to quit AAP and join Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which will make him Delhi CM.

Among his lies, Sisodia also said that CBI has admitted that there is no case against him but he is being harassed like his colleague Satyendar Jain, who is in jail for the past many months in a money laundering case.

But in a statement released on October 17, CBI refuted all the claims of Sisodia and said that Sisodia was questioned strictly on the allegations in the FIR (first information report) and the evidence collected so far during the course of investigation. CBI added that Sisodia’s statement will be verified in due course and further action will be taken as per requirements of investigation.

Liquor Scam Case

After the August 19 raids by the CBI at Sisodia’s residence, he and his AAP accomplices are telling flagrant lies or half-truths with the aim to protect him in the liquor mafia collusion case.

Sisodia – who is a deputy CM under Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal – is facing serious allegations of corruption, criminal conspiracy, and falsification of government accounts, while the CBI has filed an FIR in which Sisodia’s name is at the top of a list of 15 accused in this case.

The opposition party in Delhi BJP has been running aggressive campaigns to get Sisodia removed from his position in the government. But Kejriwal is not removing him presumably for the fear that he might divulge the names of other AAP politicians - including Kejriwal - who may be involved in liquor scam and other scandals.

In July 2022, the Lt. Governor (LG) Vinai Saxena – who is the administrative head of Delhi – had asked the CBI to probe Sisodia’s surreptitious links with the liquor mafia that led to massive corruption in the sale of liquor shop licences in the city.

An August 22 article in The New Indian Express details different aspects of the case along with the names of the accused who allegedly colluded with Sisodia to run the criminal liquor network involved in an estimated corruption of hundreds of crores of rupees.

Now, instead of answering the media questions related to Delhi liquor scam in which Sisodia is allegedly involved, the AAP members are unsuccessfully trying to divert the case to unrelated issues such as Delhi school education that Sisodia handles. In their media interactions on Sisodia’s liquor scam case, the AAP spokespersons had been unnecessarily flaunting a New York Times (NYT) school education article which looks like an advertorial (advertisement or paid article) arranged by AAP’s publicity department. The article without any research falsely praises Sisodia and Delhi school education. But the article never exonerated Sisodia in the liquor mafia scandal.

Now, Sisodia and his accomplice Satyendar Jain should be incarcerated in a harsh detention camp or a concentration camp outside Delhi so that they do not enjoy the luxurious treatment in Delhi’s Tihar jail.

More importantly, all the money (possibly hundreds of crores of rupees) embezzled in the scandals along with heavy interest should be recovered from them and they should not be allowed to work in any public office after the prison sentence.

The AAP politicians should also be interrogated sternly in order to know the names of their accomplices in AAP or external outfits who are involved in the liquor scam or other scandals so that all of them could be similarly convicted and jailed.

ChatGPT Explains How EVMs Are Manipulated to Win Elections Fraudulently

How are electronic voting machines or EVMs hacked and manipulated to win elections fraudulently? ChatGPT Explains.

As there are numerous complaints in India about the manipulation of electronic voting machines (EVMs), I sent the following query to ChatGPT on February 27, 2023. The response from ChatGPT is reproduced below.

How are electronic voting machines or EVMs hacked and manipulated to win elections fraudulently?

Response from ChatGPT is given below. Electronic voting machines (EVMs) are computer-based systems used to facilitate voting in elections. They are designed to be accurate, reliable, and secure, but like any computer-based system, they are vulnerable to hacking and manipulation. In this article, we will discuss how EVMs can be hacked and manipulated to win elections fraudulently.

There are several ways in which EVMs can be hacked and manipulated. These include:

Tampering with the software: The software that runs on EVMs is designed to be secure and tamper-proof. However, if someone gains access to the source code or the programming language used to create the software, they can introduce malicious code that alters the behavior of the machine. This could involve changing the way votes are recorded or counted, or even switching votes from one candidate to another. This type of hacking requires a high level of technical expertise and access to the source code or programming language used to create the software.

Physical tampering: EVMs are designed to be tamper-evident, meaning that any attempt to open the machine or access its internal components should be immediately obvious. However, if someone gains physical access to the machine, they could potentially alter the hardware or the firmware (the software that controls the machine's hardware) to manipulate the way votes are recorded or counted.

How are electronic voting machines or EVMs hacked and manipulated to win elections fraudulently? Photo: Screengrab of ChatGPT

This could involve inserting a device that changes the signals sent from the keypad or touch screen to the main processor, or even replacing the entire main processor with one that has been modified to alter the vote count.

Network-based attacks: EVMs can also be vulnerable to network-based attacks, which involve exploiting vulnerabilities in the network infrastructure used to transmit data between the machines and the central counting station.

For example, an attacker could intercept the data being transmitted over the network and alter it in transit, or they could inject malicious code into the network that alters the behavior of the machines. This type of hacking requires access to the network infrastructure used by the EVMs, as well as a deep understanding of network protocols and security vulnerabilities.

Social engineering: Finally, EVMs can also be vulnerable to social engineering attacks, which involve tricking or manipulating people into revealing sensitive information or taking actions that compromise the security of the system.

For example, an attacker could pose as an election official and convince a poll worker to insert a USB drive containing malicious code into the EVM. Alternatively, they could trick a voter into entering their personal identification number (PIN) into a fake website or application that captures the PIN and uses it to alter the vote count.

In order to successfully hack an EVM and manipulate the vote count, an attacker would need to overcome several technical and logistical challenges. First, they would need to gain access to the EVMs or the network infrastructure used to transmit data between them and the central counting station. This could involve physical access to the machines, access to the network infrastructure, or social engineering tactics to trick people into revealing sensitive information.

Once the attacker has gained access to the EVMs or the network infrastructure, they would need to identify vulnerabilities in the system that they can exploit. This could involve exploiting software vulnerabilities, hardware vulnerabilities, or network vulnerabilities. They would then need to develop or obtain the tools necessary to exploit these vulnerabilities, which could include custom malware, hardware implants, or network sniffers.

Finally, the attacker would need to execute their attack without being detected. This could involve covering their tracks by deleting log files or altering timestamps, or using sophisticated techniques to evade detection by security software or human observers. Despite the technical and logistical challenges involved in hacking EVMs, there have been several reported cases of successful attacks in recent years.

For example, in 2010, researchers at the University of Michigan demonstrated how they could hack into a commercially available voting machine in under 10 minutes, using a combination of physical tampering and software attacks. They were able to change the candidate names, alter the vote count, and even cause the machine to play the University of Michigan fight song after registering a vote.

In 2019, a group of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras claimed to have found vulnerabilities in India's EVMs that could be exploited to alter the vote count. They were able to demonstrate how a malicious actor could manipulate the machine's firmware using a combination of physical tampering and software attacks, and alter the vote count without leaving any trace of their activities.

These examples highlight the need for strong security measures to be in place to protect EVMs from hacking and manipulation. Some of the measures that can be taken include:

Source code verification: All EVM software should be open source, so that anyone can review the code and identify any vulnerabilities or potential areas of attack. This will help to ensure that the software is secure and tamper-proof.

Physical security: EVMs should be designed to be tamper-evident, so that any attempt to open or access the machine's internal components will be immediately obvious. They should also be stored in secure locations and monitored by security personnel at all times.

Network security: All data transmitted between the EVMs and the central counting station should be encrypted and secured using strong network protocols. Network infrastructure should also be monitored for any suspicious activity or attempts to access the system.

Testing and certification: EVMs should undergo rigorous testing and certification to ensure that they meet strict security standards. They should also be regularly audited to identify any potential vulnerabilities or areas of weakness.

In conclusion, EVMs are vulnerable to hacking and manipulation, which can be carried out in a number of ways including tampering with the software, physical tampering, network-based attacks, and social engineering. To protect against these attacks, strong security measures should be put in place including open-source software, tamper-evident physical security, strong network security protocols, and regular testing and certification.

ChatGPT (or Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is an artificial intelligence or AI-based online tool called chatbot which generates human-like text responses to prompts or user queries. It was launched by OpenAI in November 2022.

About the Editor

The editor of The Unrest news magazine Rakesh Raman is a national award-winning journalist and founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation. Besides working at senior editorial positions with leading media companies, he was writing an exclusive edit-page column regularly for The Financial Express (a daily business newspaper of The Indian Express Group).

Nowadays, for the past 12 years, he has been running his own global news services on multiple news sites. He runs various environment protection, education awareness, and anti-corruption campaigns, and publishes digital magazines and research reports on different subjects.

Earlier, he had been associated with the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as a digital media expert to help businesses use technology for brand marketing and business development.

At present, Rakesh is associated with the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project as a Country Expert for India to provide expert research inputs on multiple topics pertaining to democracy and governance. The V-Dem Project is managed by V-Dem Institute under the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Currently, he is also working as an editor for Wikipedia, which is a free online global encyclopedia.

In order to inform the Indian citizens and the global community about the extent of corruption in India, he compiled and released in October 2022 a comprehensive report on corruption in the country. Under the title “India Corruption Research Report 2022 (ICRR 2022),” the research report covers diverse aspects of corruption in India.

He has also been publishing The Integrity Bulletin news magazine since 2018 to cover local and international corruption issues to engage with different stakeholders who are trying to combat corruption in the world.

He has also announced the new project for 2023 to compile the India Corruption Research Report 2023 (ICRR 2023). You can click here to know about the project and support it financially with your donations.

He has launched a nationwide campaign to introduce social democracy in India in order to build an egalitarian society in which all citizens could enjoy equal rights, opportunities, freedoms, and access to justice. He is running an editorial section / microsite “Power Play: Lok Sabha Election 2024 in India” to cover the election news, events, and political campaigns.

He is also running a nationwide campaign to save school students of India from directionless education so that students could acquire modern skills that can help them in the job market. In his anti-corruption activities, he participated in a global petition led by Germany-based international organization Transparency International to call for the UN General Assembly Special Session against

Corruption, UNGASS 2021, to direct all countries to set up central, public registers of beneficial ownership.

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He runs a community-driven anti-corruption social service “Clean House” to help the residents of Delhi raise their voice against the growing corruption and injustice in housing societies where millions of people suffer because of rampant corruption and lawlessness. He has also formed an environment protection group called Green Group in New Delhi, which is the most polluted national capital in the world.

As Rakesh has been facing constant threats including death threats for his editorial and anti-corruption work, the Paris-based international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) that defends freedom of journalists has urged the Indian government to save him from threats and persecution. You can click here to download and read his full profile.

Donate: You can click here to donate to RMN News Service.