Chhattisgarh to become first state to probe Pegasus row?

Bhupesh Baghel has claimed that when the state was under BJP rule, NSO Group members had visited the state

As the Pegasus spyware report, which the government of India has vehemently dismissed as fabricated, gains ground, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel claimed that NSO Group members had visited the state when it was under BJP rule.

The NSO Group is the firm that manufactures the Pegasus spyware.

The CM at a press conference in Raipur said that a committee will be formed to investigate who NSO Group's representatives met and what deal was agreed upon by the firm and the BJP government, a report by The Hindu said.

Also Read | Pegasus spyware: Has national security been compromised?

“Raman Singh [former CM] has to explain what the deal was about and whom they met," Baghel said.

If Chhattisgarh actually carries out a probe, it will be the first state in the country to do so.

Even in 2019, a 3-member committee was set-up when several Dalit rights lawyers and activists in the state were told that their phones had been infected with Pegasus via WhatsApp. The committee is yet to submit its report.