Two Colonels, ex-BSF chief, BSF IG, former RAW official, Kejriwal's aide under Pegasus scanner: Report

The then BSF Director General, an Inspector General in BSF, an ED official, a key staff of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as well as a retired RAW official and two Army Colonels who took the government to court on various issues were on a leaked list of potential targets for surveillance using the controversial Israeli spyware Pegasus.

The Wire reported that the persons who were potential targets of snooping were the then BSF Director General K K Sharma, BSF Inspector General Jagdish Maithani, former ED official Rajeshwar Singh, IAS officer and Kejriwal's aide V K Jain, retired RAW official Jitendra Ojha and Colonels Mukul Dev and Amit Kumar and one each officials in the Prime Minister's Office and NITI Ayog.

Read: WB forms inquiry panel to look into Pegasus snooping row

The phone number of the current chief of Bihar cricket, Rakesh Tiwary, considered close to those at the helm of cricket administration in India, has been identified in the leaked database that was analysed by the Pegasus Project, The Wire reported.

Their phone numbers were part of the leaked database accessed by the French non-profit media Forbidden Stories and shared with an international media consortium, which includes Washington Post, The Guardian and The Wire.

"Journalists, political opponents, members of the judiciary, cabinet colleagues...now, not even the ARMY spared. There is no ambiguity here. This is a Crime. Who is responsible? #Pegasus. Discuss this in #Parliament today. Prime Minister-Home Minister must answer," Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien tweeted.

According to The Wire, Sharma's number appeared in the leaked list a month after his controversial attendance in uniform at a conference organised by RSS-affiliated outfit in Kolkata on February 11, 2018. However, post retirement, the Election Commission appointed him as a special central police observer for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal and Jharkhand, but was replaced following complaints.

Three phone numbers used by Sharma, one of which he still uses after his retirement in 2018, were in the leaked database.

ED official Singh, who was investigating sensitive cases like 2G spectrum and Aircel-Maxis case involving former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, came under the scanner in 2017-19. Phones of his wife and two sisters, including Mumbai-based lawyer Abha Singh were also on the radar.

Singh had accused the then top Finance Ministry official Hansmukh Adhia of aiding scamsters by allowing investigation of disproportionate assets against him.

Kejriwal's aide Jain, who is an IAS officer, came under the scanner after he became a witness in the case of assault on the then Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash at the Chief Minister's residence.

Colonel Dev was identified as a potential target for surveillance in 2019. He had in 2017 sent a legal notice to the Defence Secretary arguing against the government's order to scrap free rations for officers who are posted in peace areas.

Colonel Kumar was also selected for potential surveillance at around the same time as Dev. He had filed a petition in the Supreme Court on behalf of 356 Army personnel against what they apprehended was an impending dilution of the Armed Forces (Special Forces) Act (AFSPA), The Wire reported.

BSF IG Maithani, who has been associated with the Ministry of Home Affairs' smart fencing project, also appeared in the list.

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