Pegasus spyware: Top ED officer, Kejriwal's aide, PMO, NITI Aayog officials in list
Rajeshwar Singh, a senior Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer, who led several high-profile investigations conducted by his agency, was selected as a probable target for surveillance by an Indian client of the Israeli spyware firm NSO Group, an investigation of leaked data by an agency on the Pegasus spyware project has revealed.
The database accessed by French non-profit Forbidden Stories and shared with the project's media consortium, included not only two of Rajeshwar Singh numbers, but four numbers belonging to three women from his family, implying they too were likely Pegasus spyware targets.
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VK Jain, a former IAS officer, who worked as a personal assistant to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, also appears to have marked as a person of interest. In addition, the leaked records contain details of the numbers of at least one official each from the PMO and NITI Aayog.
Rajeshwar Singh, a Provincial Police Service officer (PPS) from Uttar Pradesh, has been with the ED since 2009, during which he had served on the investigation of several sensitive cases such as the 2G spectrum scam and the Aircel-Maxis matter. He has also been involved in the probes into the Sahara group and the disproportionate assets case of Andhra Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy.
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The Pegasus Project list also includes the phone number used by VK Jain, who was appointed as chief consultant at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's office.
The leaked records indicate that the telephone number of a senior employee of the NITI Aayog was also included as a probable target for surveillance.
An officer, who is currently an under secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), was also selected for potential surveillance in 2017, the leaked records show. - PTC News
