The numbers of Jitendra Kumar Ojha, who retired from RAW in January 2018, and his wife appeared on the list around the time he challenged his premature ‘retirement’ at the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in February 2018
Indian army soldiers stand guard during a cordon and search operation in Chadoora, Budgam district. Representation pic/AFP
The new names that have surfaced as potential targets of snooping using the Pegasus spyware include that of Army, BSF, ED and Research and Analysis Wing officers, The Wire reported on Monday.
An Indian client is believed to have availed the services of Israeli spyware firm NSO Group for spying on 300 people across India, an international media consortium revealed earlier this month after analysing a leaked list of phone numbers. The firm sells the spyware only to governments. According to the latest report by the news portal, in 2018, three phone numbers of K K Sharma, the then head of the Border Security Force (BSF), was on the target list. His phones have not been forensically examined to ascertain if they were infected with Pegasus.
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BSF inspector general of police Jagdish Maithani, posted in Assam, was also a potential target for surveillance between 2017 and 2019. The numbers of Jitendra Kumar Ojha, who retired from RAW in January 2018, and his wife appeared on the list around the time he challenged his premature ‘retirement’ at the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in February 2018.
Army officers on list
The numbers of Army officers — Colonel Mukul Dev and Colonel Amit Kumar — were chosen for surveillance in 2019. Colonel Dev had served a legal notice to the secretary of defence in 2017 against the government’s order to do away with free rations to officers posted in peace areas.
“I am surprised to know that this may have happened. The only reason I can think of is that they perhaps did not like the fact that I consistently raised my voice for the welfare of the Indian Army,” he told The Wire. “Under this government, whoever raises genuine concerns is looked at with suspicion.”
Colonel Kumar, posted as a legal officer in Jammu & Kashmir, had filed a petition in the Supreme Court on behalf of 356 Army personnel against “an impending dilution” of the Armed Forces (Special Forces) Act (AFSPA) in August 2018. This led to registration of FIRs against military personnel in the northeast and J&K. “I am not anti-national. What will they get from my phone? My phone is filled with patriotism. There is nothing else of interest,” he said.
Govt officials
The number of senior Enforcement Directorate officer Rajeshwar Singh, his wife and two sisters, former IAS officer V K Jain, and a current under secretary at the PMO and a former official at the NITI Aayog also appeared on the list. ED officer Singh has been involved in many high-profile cases, including the Aircel-Maxis deal, involving former finance minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti. Jain was a potential target in 2018 when he worked as a personal assistant to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
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