WB govt sets up Justice Madan Lokur-headed Commission of Inquiry to probe Pegasus scandal

THE West Bengal Chief Minister Monday announced that her government had constituted a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B Lokur to look into allegations of snooping on politicians, officials and journalists by the government using the Israeli spyware, Pegasus.

The Commission will also comprise former Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, Jyotirmay Bhattacharya, as its member.

"Names of people from West Bengal have figured on the Pegasus target list. The Centre is trying to snoop on everyone. The commission will find out details about this illegal hacking," CM Mamata Banerjee said.

Also Read: Pegasus Project latest: Anil Ambani and Dassault's India representative, many Kashmiri separatists and journalists, Tibetan officials feature on the list

Recently the country was rocked by the news that over 300 Indian individuals, including politicians, lawyers, activists and journalists were among a list of 50,000 as cyber-surveillance targets across the world, as their phones were either hacked or identified for snooping. This was done with the help of Pegasus, the phone hacking software developed by the NSO Group, an Israeli tech company.

Opposition parties have been demanding a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) or a Supreme Court-monitored probe. The government has refused to accept the opposition's demand.

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas moved the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored probe by a Special Investigation Team into the reports of surveillance of activists, journalists and politicians using the Pegasus spyware.

Also Read:   Phones of ministers, journalists, lawyers and activists tapped by Pegasus spyware. Indians should worry