Chhattisgarh Govt’s New Panel Will Look Into WhatsApp Spyware Case

The three-member panel will look into the allegations put on the state police and share its findings in a month

More than 15 victims in India have reached out to the government through an open letter wanting answers.

(Photo Courtesy: Erum Gour/The Quint)

With the WhatsApp spyware investigation yet to pick up pace in the country, the Chhattisgarh government on Monday has reportedly set up a panel to look into the snooping cases of people in the region.

For this, according to an Indian Express report, the Congress-led regime has formed a three-member panel, which will investigate the allegations of the state police meeting with the NSO Group "two or three years ago".

The report also talks about an order signed by Bhupesh Baghel, Chief Minister, Chhattisgarh, wherein they have highlighted the concerns about the NSO Group making a presentation on Pegasus to the Chhattisgarh Police.

The media publication through its report, also highlights the details of the order, which mentions that the panel will be headed by the Principal Secretary (Home) and comprise of the Raipur IG and Secretary, Department of Public Relations, with assistance from the state DGP.

Speaking about the panel and the following allegations laid on the Chhattisgarh Police, Nihalsingh Rathod, a Nagpur-based human rights lawyer, told The Quint that “instead of setting up a new panel, an enquiry through a judicial body would have carried better credentials and made the report more reliable.”

Nihalsingh was one of the victims of the spyware, which was found installed on his device. He was also part of the group which had written an open letter to the Indian government demanding answers about its investigation on the matter.

Through the letter, the group was hoping to get an answer from the government on whether it knew about any contract signed between its state or national ministry and the NSO group.

Interestingly, Nihalsingh also mentioned that “the group had earlier thought of reaching out to the Chhattisgarh police, given it was functioning under a pro-democratic government. But eventually decided against it.”

Shalini Gera, a lawyer in Chhattisgarh spoke to The Quint and she confirmed that “so far nobody from the agency has contacted her.”

Talking about the new development and what to expect from it, Nihal feels that, “there are two ways of looking at it. One could be of covering of what the previous government did or what the state police did with the previous regime. Other way is, they being in absolute power in Chhattisgarh, where there is no chance of being toppled, and using the opportunity to unravel what BJP has done.”

On the other hand, Shalini questioned the point of making police a part of the investigation. “We don't know which agencies have been involved in the surveillance case. But its reasonable to assume the police was aware or somehow involved in it. In that case making police a part of the enquiry may not be the best idea.”

When questioned if the enquiry is likely to give any answers, Nihal said,” it entirely depends on the political will and whether they want to bring out all the aspects and nab the culprits.”

While Shalini somehow echoed Nihal’s sentiments and said “we welcome the enquiry to actually look into who was behind and hold the people accountable. Whether or not it will be fruitful, we will have to wait and see. But I would like to give it a shot and see what comes out with this enquiry. After all the political situation has changed in the state.”

In the meanwhile, sources quoted in the Indian Express say that the police is looking into any paper trail of any meeting with the NSO Group to have taken place, and look for evidences as to what was discussed between them.