Pegasus latest list: Kejriwal's assistant and ED officer were also on target

Ground Report | New Delhi: Pegasus latest list; New names are emerging every day in the Pegasus espionage case and now the numbers of an aide of Arvind Kejriwal and an Enforcement Directorate (ED) official have been found in the database who were targeted through Pegasus spyware.

The numbers of three women related to the ED officer probing several high-profile cases have also been found in the database. Meanwhile, the Government of West Bengal has formed a panel to investigate the matter.

According to The Wire report, two numbers of senior ED official Rajeshwar Singh and four numbers of three women related to him were included in Pegagus' database. His number was added to the database in mid-2017 and remained there until mid-2019. Rajeshwar Singh, who has been working with the ED since 2009, has been involved in the investigation of big cases like the 2G scam and the Aircel-Maxis deal in which former Union Minister P Chidambaram is accused.

ALSO READ: Pegasus target: Numbers of BSF, RAW, Army officers also in the list

According to the report, one number related to Rajeshwar which is included in Pegasus's database is that of his sister Abha Singh. Abhi has become a lawyer from IAS and currently lives in Mumbai. Abha agreed to give her phone for forensic examination, although nothing clear came out of it. Abha told that she had used this phone from 2018 to 2019 and after that gave it to her son.

Pegasus latest list

Another former IAS officer whose number has been found in Pegasus' database is that of VK Jain, who was a personal assistant to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Jain's number was entered into the database in 2018. Apart from Jain, the number of at least one official each of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and NITI Aayog is also included in the list of possible targets. The PMO officer was in charge of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2017 visits.

With new names coming up every day, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has formed a panel to probe the matter. It includes retired Justices Jyotimay Bhattacharya and MB Lokur. Mamata said, "We thought that the Center will set up a commission of inquiry or there will be a court-monitored investigation. But the Center is not doing anything... That's why we have formed our own commission."

ALSO READ: List of Pegasus hack victims in India

Reports that surfaced earlier this month claimed that journalists, politicians, human rights activists, and celebrities from several countries were phoned or attempted to spy using spyware Pegasus from the Israeli company NSO Group.

These people included many opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Prashant Kishor, two ministers of the Modi government, several constitutional officials and journalists, Anil Ambani and former CBI chief Alok Verma, among others.

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