Industrialist Anil Ambani and former Central Bureau of Investigation Director Alok Verma were among those picked as potential targets of ...
Industrialist Anil Ambani and former Central Bureau of Investigation Director Alok Verma were among those picked as potential targets of surveillance by a client of NSO Group, the Israeli developer of the Pegasus spyware, The Wire reported on Thursday.
Besides Ambani, another official of the Reliance ADG Group was also added to the list when India’s Rafale fighter jet deal with France came under scrutiny in 2018. The Opposition has alleged that Ambani has benefited from the overpriced deal.
According to The Wire, the numbers of Rafale maker Dassault Aviation’s India representative Venkata Rao Posina, Boeing India chief Pratyush Kumar and former Saab India head Inderjit Sial also figure on the list at different periods of time in 2018 and 2019.
Meanwhile, Alok Verma’s phone numbers were reportedly added to the list of potential targets hours after he was removed from his post in 2018.
The Centre had sent Verma and CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana on leave on October 23, 2018, and appointed M Nageswara Rao the interim director. The government’s action came amid a tussle between Verma and Asthana. The CBI had named Asthana in a First Information Report in a bribery case after he was accused of accepting a Rs 2-crore bribe to scuttle an investigation into businessman Moin Qureshi, who was allegedly involved in multiple corruption...
