New Delhi: As Facebook-owned WhatsApp sued Israeli cyber intelligence company NSO Group this week that exploited its video calling system to snoop on 1,400 selected users globally, details emerged on Thursday that there were number of Indian human rights activists and journalists among those who were targeted.
These Indians are Ankit Grewal, Vivek Sundara, Anand Teltumbde, Bela Bhatia, Shubranshu Choudhary, Rupali Jhadav, Seema Azad, Shalini Gera, Ashish Gupta, Nihalsing Rathod, Saroj Giri, Degree Prasad Chauhan, Sidhant Sibal, Rajeev Sharma, Ajmal Khan and Santosh Bhartiya.
Ankit Grewal: He is a lawyer. In Elgar Parishad case, he represented activist, Sudha Bhardwaj.
Vivek Sundara: He is a social and environmental activist. He also a member of the Kabir Kala Manch Defence Committee.
Anand Teltumbde: He is an academician. In Elgar Parishad Case, he was an accused. He has written about the caste system in India and advocated for the rights of Dalits.
He was born to a Dalit farmer in Maharashtra and his wife is a granddaughter of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
Bela Bhatia: She is a writer and human rights lawyer based in Chhattisgarh. She was an honorary professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bombay. ‘The Naxalite Movement in Central Bihar’ was her doctoral thesis.
Shubranshu Choudhary: He is a former journalist at BBC. In Chhattisgarh, he works as Peace Activists.
Rupali Jhadav: She is a member of Kabir Kala Manch.
Seema Azad: She is an activist with the People’s Union for Civil Liberties.
Shalini Gera: She is a lawyer who is working on the Elgar Parishad Case. She is also a secretary, PUCL, Chhattisgarh.
Ashish Gupta: He is an activist with the People’s Union for Democratic Rights.
Nihalsing Rathod: He is a human rights lawyer who is based in Nagpur. In Elgar Parishad Case, he is the lawyer for accused Surendra.
Saroj Giri: He is an Asst. Professor of Political Science Department of Delhi University.
Degree Prasad Chauhan: He is a Dalit Rights activist. He is a Chhattisgarh-based activist.
Sidhant Sibal: He is a principal diplomatic and defence correspondent, WION, Delhi.
Rajeev Sharma: He is a strategic analyst and columnist.
Ajmal Khan: He is a research scholar who was active in agitation which took place after the death of Rohit Vemula.
Santosh Bhartiya: He is a former MP of Lok Sabha from Farrukhabad, UP. He is also editor-in-chief of Chauthi Duniya.
It may be mentioned that the controversy immediately snowballed into a political one, with several Congress leaders blaming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) orchestrating the WhatsApp snooping on human rights activists.
“Modi Govt caught snooping! Appalling but not Surprising! After all, BJP Govt 1. Fought against our right to privacy. 2. Set up a multi crore Surveillance Structure until stopped by SC. SC must take immediate cognisance & issue notice to BJP Govt,” tweeted Congress Party leader Randeep Singh Surjewala.
Another Congress leader Jaiveer Shergill tweeted: 1) BJP Govt wanted Aadhar linked with phone 2) objected to right to privacy as fundamental right; 3) 20/12/2018 issued Notification authorising data snooping 4) WhatsApp snooping thru Israeli Software; Next- cameras in our Homes in name of Rashtravaad? Tricks of Bhrasht Jasoos Party?”
Sidhant Sibal, who is principal diplomatic and defence correspondent for WIONews, tweeted: “Here is the good news. Whatsapp was able to raise the alarm of hacking and they promptly took measures–Technical & Legal. Having being approached by them, they suggested measures to be safe online”.
Congress Party spokesperson Sanjay Jha tweeted: “Big Bro is watching, reading and analysing your #WhatsApp message”.