 "Israeli Pegasus snooping case: Number of activists who confirmed being contacted by WhatsApp over surveillance rises to 20")
A massive debate on security and privacy in the cyber world has erupted after popular social messaging platform WhatsApp revealed that journalists and human rights activists around the world, including India, had in May 2019 possibly been put under surveillance by Israeli spyware ‘Pegasus’. After a WhatsApp spokesperson told The Indian Express it was aware of those targeted and had reached out to them, Firstpost initially located three such individuals : Nagpur-based lawyer-activist Nihalsingh Rathod, Pune-based cultural activist Rupali Jadhav and Gadchiroli-based lawyer and human rights activist Jagdish Meshram. Here is a list of the people who have confirmed being contacted by WhatsApp regarding a possible breach in security so far:
| Name | Profession |
|---|---|
| Anand Teltumbde | Professor, Writer and Intellectual, Goa |
| Bela Bhatia | Human rights activist, Chattishgarh |
| Rupali Jadhav | Cultural Activist, Kabir Kala Manch, Pune |
| Nihalsingh Rathod | Lawyer, Human Rights Law Network, Nagpur (Surendra Gadling’s Junior) |
| Shalini Gera | Lawyer, Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group, Chattisgarh |
| Shubranshu Choudhary | Activist, Chattisgarh |
| Degree Prasad Chouhan | Lawyer and Cultural Activist, Chattisgarh |
| Jagdish Meshram | Lawyer, Gadchiroli |
| Minal Gadling | |
| Ashish Gupta | Activist, People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), Delhi |
| Ankit Grewal | Lawyer, Chandigargh |
| Seema Azad | Fouder of bi-monthly magazine ‘Dastak’ and PUCL activist, Allahabad |
| Saroj Giri | Associate Professor at Delhi University, New Delhi |
| Vivek Sundara | Social Activist, Mumbai |
| Ajmal Khan | Research scholar, New Delhi (previously PHD Scholar at TISS Mumbai) |
| Rajeeev Sharma | Poltical analyst, New Delhi |
| Sidhant Sibal | Wion Journalist, New Delhi |
| Santosh Bhartiya | Editor-in-Chief of Chauthi Duniya, a Hindi Sunday newspaper, New Delhi |
| Alok Shukhla | Convenor, Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, Raipur |
| Ravindranath Bhalla | Lawyer, Telangana |
Of the 1,400-odd activists targeted worldwide, at least 20 are Indian activists, lawyers, and journalists. Of these, a majority are associated with the nine activists arrested in connection with Elgaar Parishad event on 31 December, 2017, (popularly called the ‘Bhima Koregaon case’ after the place where the riots took place). Nine activists — Surendra Gadling, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira, and Vernon Gonsalves — were arrested in two separate groups in June and August last year, for allegedly inciting riots and having Maoist links.