News Analysis India

Tag: Pegasus

  • Home Minister Amit Shah hits out at Congress, global organisations over snooping allegation

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday hit out at the opposition Congress and international organisations for suggesting that the government was involved in surveillance of phones of politicians, journalists and others, saying such “obstructors” and “disruptors” will not be able to derail India’s development trajectory with their conspiracies.

    In a hard-hitting statement, Shah said that the report about the alleged snooping has been amplified by a few whose only aim is to do whatever is possible to humiliate India at the world stage.

    “This is a report by the disrupters for the obstructers. Disrupters are global organisations that do not like India to progress. Obstructers are political players in India who do not want India to progress. People of India are very good at understanding this chronology and connection,” he said.

    The home minister said he wanted to assure the people of India that the Modi government’s priority is clear – ‘National Welfare’ – and it will keep working to achieve that no matter what happens.

    Opposition parties on Monday hit out at the government over the alleged phone-tapping of prominent personalities in the country using Israeli Pegasus spyware and demanded an independent judicial or parliamentary committee probe.

    An international media consortium reported Sunday that more than 300 verified mobile phone numbers, including of two serving ministers, over 40 journalists, three opposition leaders and one sitting judge besides scores of businesspersons and activists in India could have been targeted for hacking through the Israeli spyware sold only to government agencies.

    Shah said those who intend to derail India’s progress are peddling the same old narratives about the country.

    “To see the rudderless Congress, jump on to this bandwagon is not unexpected. They have a good past experience in trampling over democracy and with their own house not in order, they are now trying to derail anything progressive that comes up in Parliament,” he said.

  • Illegal snooping not possible in India, says IT Minister in Lok Sabha rejecting allegations linked to Pegasus 

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The government on Monday categorically rejected in Lok Sabha allegations of snooping on politicians, journalists and others using Pegasus software, asserting that illegal surveillance was not possible with checks and balances in the country’s laws, and alleged that attempts were being made to malign Indian democracy.

    As a massive row erupted over the issue, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a suo motu statement in the lower house, said the media reports on alleged snooping published a day before the start of the Monsoon Session of Parliament “cannot be a coincidence” and stressed that there is “no substance” behind the sensationalism.

    “The press reports of 18th July 2021 also appear to be an attempt to malign the Indian democracy and its well-established institutions,” Vaishnaw said in his first statement in Parliament as a minister.

    The opposition parties on Monday hit out at the government over the phone-hacking charge and demanded an independent judicial or parliamentary committee probe.

    MPs protested on this issue, besides others, in both Houses of Parliament, leading to several adjournments.

    The minister, however, did not specify whether the Indian government was using Pegasus spyware developed by Israeli company NSO.

    Media reports claimed that spyware Pegasus was used to conduct surveillance on about 300 Indians, including ministers, political leaders, government officials and journalists.

    The minister said many “over the top” allegations have been around the highly sensational story published by a web portal last night.

    “The press reports have appeared a day before the Monsoon Session of the Parliament.

    This cannot be a coincidence.

    In the past, similar claims were made regarding the use of Pegasus on Whatsapp,” he said.

    Those reports, he said, had no factual basis and were categorically denied by all parties, including in the Supreme Court.

    Speaking amid a din, he said the basis of the media report is that there is a consortium that has got access to a leaked data of 50,000 phone numbers and the allegation is that the individuals linked to these phone numbers were being spied upon.

    The report, the minister said, had also observed that the presence of a phone number in the data does not reveal whether a device was infected with Pegasus or subject to an attempted hack.

    He further said that the report had also pointed out that the “presence of a number in the list does not amount to snooping”.

    The NSO, the company which owns the technology, has also “clearly rubbished the claims in the report”, the minister stressed.

    The NSO had said that the list of countries shown using Pegasus in the report was incorrect and many countries mentioned were not even the clients of the company, he added.

    India, the minister said, has an “established protocol when it comes to surveillance.

    .

    .

    any form of illegal surveillance is not possible with the checks and balances in our laws and our robust institutions.

    ” A lawful interception of electronic communication, he said, is carried out for the purpose of national security, particularly in a public emergency or in the interest of public safety by agencies at the Centre and in states.

    The requests for the lawful interception of electronic communication are made as per relevant rules under the provisions of section 5(2) of Indian Telegraph Act,1885 and section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, the minister said.

    Each case of interception or monitoring is approved by the competent authority and there is an established oversight mechanism in the form of a review committee headed by the Union Cabinet Secretary.

    In the case of state governments, such cases are reviewed by a committee headed by the chief secretary concerned.

    Also, the law also provides an adjudication process for those adversely affected by any incident.

    “The procedure, therefore, ensures that any interception or monitoring of any information is done as per the due process of law.

    The framework and institutions have withstood the test of time,” the Minister said.

    Looking from the prism of logic, “it clearly emerges there is no substance whatsoever behind this sensationalism”, Vaishnaw said.

    More than 300 verified mobile phone numbers, including of two serving ministers, over 40 journalists, three opposition leaders and one sitting judge besides scores of business persons and activists in India could have been targeted for hacking through the Israeli spyware sold only to the government agencies, an international media consortium reported on Sunday.

    The government, however, had dismissed the allegation of any kind of surveillance on its part on specific people, saying there is “no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever”.

    PTI RR CS NKD MBI NKD RT RT 07191945 NNNN

  • BJP says not a shred of evidence to link it or government with Pegasus story

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Monday hit out at the Congress over its attack on the central government over the Pegasus snooping row, and claimed that there is not a “shred of evidence” to link either the ruling party or the Modi dispensation with the matter.

    Addressing a press conference, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad also questioned the credentials of those behind the story, alleging that The Wire, the news portal which broke it in India, had been earlier associated with stories which have been found to be “incorrect” while Amnesty International has a declared “anti-India” agenda in many ways.

    Those who broke the story themselves said that the presence of a particular number in the database does not confirm that it is infected with Pegasus, he said while questioning the timing of the story coming as it did a day before Parliament’s Monsoon session began on Monday.

    He also brushed aside a question on the Congress’ demands for Home Minister Amit Shah’s resignation and probe against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and accused the opposition party of hitting a “new low” in making baseless allegations in a manner that was bereft of any political propriety.

    With the Congress “shrinking and losing”, the entire row is timed to disrupt Parliament and build a baseless agenda, he said.

    Prasad said, “The BJP strongly refutes and condemns the baseless and bereft of political propriety comments levelled by Congress against the BJP. This is a new low in the political discourse of a party that has ruled India for over 50 years.” He added, “Our IT Minister confirmed today that for lawful interceptions of electronic communication can only be made as per relevant rules under provisions of Sec 5(2) of Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 & Sec 69 of Information Technology Act 2000.

    Any form of illegal surveillance isn’t possible with checks & balances in our laws & robust institutions,” he said.

  • Pegasus spyware issue: Opposition slams government over alleged phone-tapping, seeks probe

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Opposition parties Monday hit out at the government over the alleged phone-tapping of prominent personalities in the country using Israeli Pegasus spyware and demanded an independent judicial or parliamentary committee probe.

    An international media consortium reported Sunday that more than 300 verified mobile phone numbers, including of two serving ministers, over 40 journalists, three opposition leaders and one sitting judge besides scores of businesspersons and activists in India could have been targeted for hacking through an Israeli spyware sold only to government agencies.

    ALSO READ: Phone numbers of over 40 Indian journalists leaked by Pegasus spyware

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the matter using the hashtag “Pegasus”.

    “We know what he’s been reading- everything on your phone,” Gandhi wrote Monday as a tweet-reply to his own post two days ago in which he had asked people, “I’m wondering what you guys are reading these days.”

    The government has, however, dismissed allegations of any kind of surveillance on its part, saying the accusation has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever.

    ALSO READ: National security under threat; will raise issue in Parl, says Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

    IT and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told Lok Sabha that with several checks and balances being in place, “any sort of illegal surveillance” by unauthorised persons is not possible in India.

    Terming it a very serious issue concerning national security, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor demanded an independent judicial or parliamentary committee probe. Since the government has said that it has not done any snooping, this should be probed, he said.

    “I feel that there should be a thorough independent judicial inquiry or a joint parliamentary committee. We cannot just brush it under the carpet,” he told reporters.

    ALSO READ: PM Modi, Amit Shah should clarify on Pegasus spying issue, says Shiv Sena

    He raised the issue through social media too. “GoI has denied resorting to unauthorised surveillance. The question this raises is, if #Pegasus is only sold to governments, which other govts (China/Pak?) are using it to snoop on prominent Indian citizens? Shouldn’t the authorities call for an independent investigation,” he tweeted referring to the Government of India.

    The CPIM said that two years ago, the party had raised in Parliament that this “dangerous spyware” was being used in India as revealed by WhatsApp.

    “The Modi government’s response had not categorically denied that it engaged the services of NSO (the Israeli tech firm that created the spyware) but claimed that there is no “unauthorized surveillance”.

    ALSO READ: Maharashtra minister Satej Patil slams Modi government on Pegasus spying issue

    With these revelations, it is clear that this government has engaged NSO for such surveillance against its own citizens,” the party said in a statement Monday.

    “The Central government must come clean on what is its engagement with NSO, what are the terms and how much our public funds have been paid for this,” the party demanded.

    Under Indian laws, the use of cyber spy software to hack smartphones even by the government is prohibited, the party said, asking under what law the government has undertaken such “surveillance activities” over citizens.

    “The right to privacy is a fundamental right as laid down by the Supreme Court, but this BJP government is prevaricating on legislating the privacy law,” the party said.

    The CPIM also said there have been earlier instances of hacking smartphones and computers of human rights activists and they have been exposed. It alleged that the spying toll is digitally planted on their devices.

    “It is then used for their arrests under draconian laws. The `snoop, plant, arrest’ formula employed by this BJP government is a violation of the fundamental rights of Indian citizens,” the CPIM said.

    The TMC said it will raise the issue in parliament. “It is a serious issue and the minister in his statement in the House does not deny that the government was using the software. We will raise this issue in Parliament,” said TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’ Brien.

  • Reports of snooping on Indians aimed at maligning Indian democracy: IT and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: IT and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday dismissed media reports on the use of Pegasus software to snoop on Indians, saying the allegations levelled just ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament are aimed at maligning Indian democracy.

    In a suo motu statement in Lok Sabha, Vaishnaw said that with several checks and balances being in place, “any sort of illegal surveillance” by unauthorised persons is not possible in India.

    The statement assumes significance in the backdrop opposition parties creating a ruckus over the issue in both the Houses of Parliament on the first day of the Monsoon session.

    The minister made this statement in response to media reports that spyware Pegasus was being used to conduct surveillance on several Indians, including political leaders, government officials and journalists.

    “A highly sensational story was published by a web portal yesterday night. The press report appeared a day before the Monsoon session of the Parliament.”

    “This cannot be a coincidence. In the past similar claims were made regarding the use of Pegasus on WhatsApp. Those reports have no factual basis and were categorically denied by all parties. The press report of July 18, 2021 also appeared to be an attempt to malign the Indian democracy and a well-established institution,” the minister said.

    More than 300 verified mobile phone numbers, including of two serving ministers, over 40 journalists, three opposition leaders and one sitting judge besides scores of business persons and activists in India could have been targeted for hacking through an Israeli spyware sold only to government agencies, an international media consortium reported on Sunday.

    The government, however, had dismissed allegations of any kind of surveillance on its part on specific people, saying it “has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever”.

  • Pegasus spyware: National security under threat; will raise issue in Parl, says Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Amid reports of possible hacking of phones of journalists and activists through Pegasus spyware, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday said he will raise the issue in the Parliament.

    “Our national security is under threat. I will definitely raise the Pegasus spyware issue in the House,” Chowdhury told ANI.

    Ahead of the commencement of the Monsoon session of the Parliament, several members raised concerns about the Pegasus spyware and gave a suspension of business notice in this regard.

    Communist Party of India (CPI) Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam on Monday has given a suspension of business notice under rule 267 over revelations of the scale of Pegasus spyware.

    AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh has given a suspension of business notice under rule 267 over revelations of the scale of Pegasus spyware.

    The Monsoon session is set to begin on Monday and will conclude on August 13.

    The development comes after the names of over 40 Indian journalists appeared on the leaked list of potential targets for surveillance by an unidentified agency using Pegasus spyware, according to a report published in The Wire.

    Meanwhile, the Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology refuted the reports of surveillance of journalists.

    “The allegations regarding government surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever. In the past, similar claims were made regarding the use of Pegasus on WhatsApp by the Indian state. Those reports also had no factual basis and were categorically denied by all parties, including WhatsApp in the Indian Supreme Court,” the Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology said in its response.

    ALSO READ | What is Pegasus spyware? 10 basic facts about ‘snooping’ row & the surveillance software involved 

    “This news report, thus, also appears to be a similar fishing expedition, based on conjectures and exaggerations to malign the Indian democracy and its institutions,” the Ministry added.

    The spyware ‘Pegasus’ is developed by Israel-based NSO Group. The company specialises in hacking devices and caters to various governments of the world for spying purposes.

    Forensic tests have also confirmed that phones of some of these journalists were successfully infected with the Pegasus malware, the report said.

    According to the report, the journalists who were targeted work for some news organisations in the country including Hindustan Times, The Hindu, India Today, Indian Express and Network18. Many of them cover matters related to Defence, Home Ministry, Election Commission and Kashmir among others.

    The Wire said phones of its founder-editors Siddharth Varadarajan and MK Venu were also targeted with Pegasus spyware.

    Some of the prominent journalists whose names are mentioned in the leaked list include Shishir Gupta, Prashant Jha, Rahul Singh, Sandeep Unnithan, Manoj Gupta, Vijaita Singh and J Gopikrishnan, the report said.

    According to The Wire, the leaked list was first accessed by France-based Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International and later shared with The Wire and 15 other news organisations worldwide as part of a collaborative investigation named the ‘Pegasus Project’.

    Notably, the presence of a phone number in the list alone does not reveal whether a device was infected with Pegasus or subject to an attempted hack. But the Pegasus Project suggests potential targets for surveillance attempts.

    Independent digital forensic analysis conducted on 10 Indian phones whose numbers were present in the data showed signs of either an attempted or successful Pegasus hack, reported The Wire.

    In November 2019, messaging app WhatsApp had revealed that journalists and activists in India have been the target of surveillance by operators using the Israeli spyware, Pegasus.

    The then Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had informed the Parliament that Pegasus spyware was developed by an Israel-based company NSO Group in an attempt to reach mobile phones of 1,400 users globally including 121 users from India.

    The spyware first made global headlines in 2016 when an Arab activist reported a mysterious message on his phone.

  • CPI MP gives suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha on Pegasus spyware issue

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Ahead of the commencement of the Monsoon session of the Parliament, Communist Party of India (CPI) Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam on Monday has given a suspension of business notice under rule 267 over revelations of the scale of Pegasus spyware.

    The Monsoon session is set to begin on Monday and will conclude on August 13.

    The development comes after the names of over 40 Indian journalists appeared on the leaked list of potential targets for surveillance by an unidentified agency using Pegasus spyware, according to a report published in The Wire.

    Meanwhile, the Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology refuted the reports of surveillance of journalists.

    ALSO READ | What is Pegasus spyware? 10 basic facts about ‘snooping’ row & the surveillance software involved 

    “The allegations regarding government surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever. In the past, similar claims were made regarding the use of Pegasus on WhatsApp by the Indian State. Those reports also had no factual basis and were categorically denied by all parties, including WhatsApp in the Indian Supreme Court,” the Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology said in its response.

    “This news report, thus, also appears to be a similar fishing expedition, based on conjectures and exaggerations to malign the Indian democracy and its institutions,” the Ministry added.

    The spyware ‘Pegasus’ is developed by Israel-based NSO Group. The company specialises in hacking devices and caters to various governments of the world for spying purposes.

    Forensic tests have also confirmed that phones of some of these journalists were successfully infected with the Pegasus malware, the report said.

    According to the report, the journalists who were targeted work for some news organisations in the country including Hindustan Times, The Hindu, India Today, Indian Express and Network18. Many of them cover matters related to Defence, Home Ministry, Election Commission and Kashmir among others.

    The Wire said phones of its founder-editors Siddharth Varadarajan and MK Venu were also targeted with Pegasus spyware.

    Some of the prominent journalists whose names are mentioned in the leaked list include Shishir Gupta, Prashant Jha, Rahul Singh, Sandeep Unnithan, Manoj Gupta, Vijaita Singh and J Gopikrishnan, the report said.

    According to The Wire, the leaked list was first accessed by France-based Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International and later shared with The Wire and 15 other news organisations worldwide as part of a collaborative investigation named the ‘Pegasus Project’.

    Notably, the presence of a phone number in the list alone does not reveal whether a device was infected with Pegasus or subject to an attempted hack. But the Pegasus Project suggests potential targets for surveillance attempts.

    Independent digital forensic analysis conducted on 10 Indian phones whose numbers were present in the data showed signs of either an attempted or successful Pegasus hack, reported The Wire.

    In November 2019, messaging app WhatsApp had revealed that journalists and activists in India have been the target of surveillance by operators using the Israeli spyware, Pegasus.

    The then Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had informed the Parliament that Pegasus spyware was developed by an Israel-based company NSO Group in an attempt to reach mobile phones of 1,400 users globally including 121 users from India.

    The spyware first made global headlines in 2016 when an Arab activist reported a mysterious message on his phone. 

  • Allegations of surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth: Government

    By IANS
    NEW DELHI: Amid reports of snooping of prominent citizens, the Indian government said that allegations of surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever.

    In response to journalists’ queries on snooping of prominent citizens, Additional Secretary, Electronics and Information Technology, Rajender Kumar said: “India is a robust democracy that is committed to ensuring the right to privacy to all its citizens as a fundamental right. In furtherance of this commitment, it has also introduced the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, to protect the personal data of individuals and to empower users of social media platforms.”

    “The commitment to free speech as a fundamental right is the cornerstone of India’s democratic system. We have always strived to attain an informed citizenry with an emphasis on a culture of open dialogue. Government of India’s response to a Right to Information application about the use of Pegasus has been prominently reported by the media and is in itself sufficient to counter any malicious claims about the alleged association between the Government of India and Pegasus,” he added.

    He stated that the questionnaire sent to the Government of India indicates that “the story being crafted is one that is not only bereft of facts but also founded in preconceived conclusions”.

    “It seems you are trying to play the role of an investigator, prosecutor as well as jury,” he wrote.

    He pointed out that answers to the queries posed have already been in public domain for a long time, and it also indicates poorly conducted research and lack of due diligence by the media organisations involved.

    He held that in India there is a well-established procedure through which lawful interception of electronic communication is carried out in order for the purpose of national security, particularly on the occurrence of any public emergency or in the interest of public safety, by agencies at the Centre and states.

    “The requests for these lawful interception of electronic communication are made as per relevant rules under the provisions of Section 5(2) of Indian Telegraph Act ,1885 and Section 69 of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2000,” the official said.

    He mentioned that India’s Minister of Electronics & IT has also spoken in detail, including in the Parliament, that there has been no unauthorised interception by Government agencies.

    “It is important to note that government agencies have a well-established protocol for interception, which includes sanction and supervision from highly ranked officials in Central and state governments, for clear stated reasons only in national interest. The allegations regarding government surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever,” he said.

    He further mentioned that in the past, similar claims were made regarding the use of Pegasus on WhatsApp by the Indian state and those reports also had no factual basis and were categorically denied by all parties, including WhatsApp in the Indian Supreme Court.

    “This news report, thus, also appears to be a similar fishing expedition, based on conjectures and exaggerations to malign the Indian democracy and its institutions,” he said.

  • Phone numbers of over 40 Indian journalists leaked by Pegasus spyware

    By IANS
    NEW DELHI: The Pegasus snoop list has 40 Indian journalists and forensic tests confirm presence of Pegasus spyware on some devices, The Wire reported. Those on leaked list of potential targets include journalists at Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The Wire, Indian Express, News18, India Today, Pioneer, besides freelancers, columnists, and regional media.

    The presence of a phone number in the data does alone not reveal whether a device was infected with Pegasus or subject to an attempted hack. However, the Pegasus Project, a consortium of international news organisations, believes the data is indicative of potential targets identified in advance of possible surveillance attempts.

    Two founding editors of The Wire are on this list, as is its diplomatic editor and two of its regular contributors, including Rohini Singh. Singh’s number appears after she filed back-to-back reports on the business affairs of Home Minister Amit Shah’s son, Jay Shah, and Nikhil Merchant, a businessman who is close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and while she was investigating the dealings of a prominent minister, Piyush Goyal, with businessman Ajay Piramal, The Wire said.

    The number of former Indian Express journalist Sushant Singh appears on the list in mid-2018, at a time when he was working on an investigation into the controversial Rafale aircraft deal with France, besides other stories. Digital forensics conducted on Singh’s current phone showed signs of Pegasus infection earlier this year.

    The Wire said the list of journalists to emerge from the Pegasus Project’s reporting cannot be considered exhaustive list or even a representative sample of reporters subject to official snooping as it is limited to an analysis of one leaked dataset over a narrow time period and covering only one potential vector of surveillance, i.e. Pegasus.

    A good chunk of the journalists who appear in the records are based out of the national capital and work with prominent organisations.

    For instance, the leaked data shows that at least four current employees and one former employee of the Hindustan Times group were of potential interest to the Indian Pegasus client – executive editor Shishir Gupta, editorial page editor and former bureau chief Prashant Jha, defence correspondent Rahul Singh, former political reporter who covered the Congress Aurangazeb Naqshbandi, and a reporter in HT’s sister paper, Mint.

    Other prominent media houses also had at least one journalist whose phone number appears in the leaked records. This includes Ritika Chopra (who covers education and the Election Commission) and Muzammil Jameel (who writes on Kashmir) of the Indian Express, Sandeep Unnithan (who covers defence and the Indian military) of India Today, Manoj Gupta (editor investigations and security affairs) at TV18, and Vijaita Singh, who covers the Home Ministry for The Hindu and whose phone contained traces of an attempted Pegasus infection.

    At The Wire, those targeted were founder-editors Siddharth Varadarajan and M.K. Venu, for whom specific forensic analysis showed evidence of their phones being infected by Pegasus. The number of Devirupa Mitra, The Wire’s diplomatic editor, also appears in the records.

    Apart from Rohini Singh, the phone number of another regular contributor to The Wire – senior columnist Prem Shankar Jha, who writes mainly on political and security matters – also appears in the records, as does freelance journalist Swati Chaturvedi, who was also writing for The Wire at the time she was selected.

    Another journalist that finds mention on the list is J. Gopikrishnan, an investigative reporter with The Pioneer, credited with having broken the 2G telecom scam, The Wire said. Several senior journalists who have left mainstream organisations also appear in the leaked data as individuals who were selected.

    This includes: former national security reporter Saikat Datta, former Economics and Political Weekly editor Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, who now writes regularly for Newsclick.in, former TV18 anchor and diplomatic reporter at The Tribune Smita Sharma, former Outlook journalist S.N.M. Abdi, and former DNA reporter Iftikhar Gilani.

    The Wire’s analysis of the data shows that most of the above mentioned names were targeted between 2018 and 2019 – in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha general elections.

    While some journalists appear to have been added to the list at more or less the same time, suggesting official interest in the group, others figure as standalone entries, perhaps for the stories they were working on at the time. And these stories are not always the obvious ones.

    Of that group, records show that former Lok Sabha MP and veteran journalist Santosh Bharatiya was also marked on the list in early 2019. The former parliamentarian had early in his career worked as a journalist.

    The Wire said the leaked data also throws up the numbers of journalists who work far away from Lutyens’ Delhi and the national glare. This includes north-east-based editor in chief of Frontier TV Manoranjana Gupta, Bihar-based Sanjay Shyam and Jaspal Singh Heran.