Amid political turmoil over the 'Pegasus Project' that reveals alleged snooping attempts on several civil servants, politicians and ministers, the latest in the series of reports shows names of a senior Enforcement Director, an aide of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and officials from the PMO and NITI Aayog as potential people of interest.
While Rajeshwar Singh, a senior ED officer has led several high-profile cases, VK Jain, a former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who worked as Kejriwal's personal assistant was also 'marked as a person of interest', according to The Wire.
The report further said that the list also featured an official each from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the NITI Aayog. Their identities, however, have been witheld in the report.
Rajeshwar Singh
The senior officer has been with the ED since 2009, and has, therefore, served on the probe of several sensitive cases such as the 2G spectrum scam and the Aircel-Maxis matter. Further, he has been involved in the investigation into the Sahara group and the Andhra CM Jagan Mohan Reddy's disproportionate assets case.
According to The Wire, his time on the database spans from late 2017 to mid-2019.
According to The Wire, the phone numbers of his wife and two of his sisters were also added in 2018.
VK Jain
Former IAS officer and personal assistant to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Jain's phone number figure in the the leaked reports in 2018. As per The Wire, Jain handled the most significant files of the state government during this period. This is also the period when he was questioned by the Delhi Police in connection with the purported assault on Delhi chief secretary Anshu Prakash by two legislators of the Aam Aadmi Party.
Officials of the Niti Ayog and PMO
According to The Wire, the phone number of a senior Niti Aayog employee was also listed as a probable target for surveillance. The individual, however, is no longer in employment of the government policy think tank and has requested the news portal to not disclose the identity.
Meanwhile, the unnamed PMO official, is presently an under secretary in the office, and was reportedly listed as a potential target in 2017. This was the period when he was in charge of PM Modi's tours.
When The Wire contacted him on the mobile number listed in the records, he is quoted to have said, “I don’t know if this list is accurate or if my number is there. The only thing I can say is that I am not such an important person whose number should be traced."
(This is a developing story. It will be updated with more details)
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