Vikram Raj
In recent developments, a worldwide list of many individuals whose mobile phones may have been tainted with the Pegasus programming software has emerged. It is being said that there are names of about 300 Indians in this list, out of which the names of 40 Journalists and activists have been revealed yet.
Pegasus is the name of the most sophisticated piece of spyware at any point, created and owned by a private Israeli corporate called NSO group. Whenever it has wormed its direction onto your telephone, without you seeing it, it can transform it into a 24-hour reconnaissance gadget. It can duplicate messages you send or get, collect your photographs and record your calls. It may furtively film you through your phone’s camera, or enact the amplifier to record your discussions. It can conceivably pinpoint where you are, the place where you’ve been, and who you’ve met.
Renowned cyber and privacy lawyer Dr. Prashant Mali said in this regard that, According to NSO’s terms and conditions, they provide the pegasus software only to governments of different countries. They can’t even disclose their clients.
A forensic examination of some of these people’s mobile phones has affirmed that they were compromised and may have been spied upon.
The list includes the name of Shishir Gupta, Sidhartha Vardharajan, MK Venu, Rohini Singh, Swati Chaturvedi, Sushant Singh, Vijaita Singh, Smita Sharma, Paranjoy Guha Thakurt, Jaspal Singh Heran, Manoranjana Gupta and Rupesh Kumar Singh.
The Kashmiriyat spoke to Rupesh Kumar Singh on this issue. In the list released so far, Rupesh is the only journalist who does journalism in Hindi. Rupesh says that since 2017, he had started feeling that he was under the surveillance of the state and that someone has been listening to his calls.
After realizing that his phone was under scrutiny, he stopped using his phone, but within no time, he found out that his car has been bugged with camera and audio recording systems, he said.
He further told The Kashmiriyat that, this is not the first and last list, even before the names of some activists associated with Bhima Koregaon had also came to light with an argument that their phones were hacked.
The list includes not only journalists and activists but also 3 opposition leaders, 2 ministers and a judge, and it can be inferred from the fact that this government is not only afraid of journalists but is afraid of every voice that raises against their fascist terrorism.
“But the government should know that no matter how many tricks they adopt against us, we will not stop writing the truth with our pen” he added.
At last recited one of the most celebrated slogans of mass movements, “Dum Hai Kitna Daman me Tere, Dekh Liya Hai Dekhenge ( We’ve seen your courage to oppress us, we’ll see it again but we won’t stop)”
Who is Rupesh Kumar Singh ?
Rupesh is a Jharkhand based independent journalist and one of the most prominent voices against armed forces atrocities in Jharkhand. He has been writing continuously against the government repression on the tribals of Jharkhand.
In 2017, a tribal man Motilal Baske was shot dead by the Cobra force with 11 bullets. Rupesh has been instrumental in reporting this news to the national media and organizing a mass movement against government repression.
After this incident, he caught the eye of the government, due to which he was arrested and UAPA was imposed on him on 4 June 2019. He was accused of being a Maoist supporter.
After spending 6 months in jail, he was released on bail when the police failed to file a charge sheet against him.
Even after that, he kept his voice high against the government and was always ready to write against the state repression. After coming out of jail, he wrote a book “Kaidkhane Ka Aaina” on conditions of Indian prisons, which is available on major online shopping platforms.