Pegasus attack has serious implications for rule of law, say senior retired police officers
The Hindu
Julio Ribeiro, Vikash Narain Rai, S.R. Darapuri voice concern on the impact of surveillance and planting of evidence
Cyber-hacking revealed in the Bhima Koregaon case by Boston-based computer forensics firm Arsenal Consultancy shows that the Pegasus spyware attack can have serious implications for police functioning and the rule of law, senior retired police officers said. Julio Ribeiro, former Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab; Vikash Narain Rai, former DGP, Haryana; and S.R. Darapuri, former Inspector General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, addressed an online press conference and raised serious concerns on the impact of surveillance and planting of evidence. They criticised the government’s failure to investigate these crimes, and also called for the release of those arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case.The Shakti Scheme in Karnataka has completed its first year, yet the smart cards intended for the beneficiaries remain undistributed. According to Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, while the smart cards have been prepared, their issuance has been stalled due to the absence of electronic ticketing machines (ETMs) in all buses, making them impractical.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R. Ashok were engaged in war of words over the Lok Sabha election results on Tuesday, with the former calling the latter “ignorant and entertaining people”. In response, Mr. Ashok said the Chief Minister “sometimes wakes up from deep slumber to exhibit his arrogance and anger”.
Makineni Jishnu Sai from Guntur secured the first position in the engineering stream while Yellu Srishant Reddy from Nizampet in Telangana bagged the first place in the Agriculture and Pharmacy (Bi.P.C. stream) in the Andhra Pradesh Engineering, Agriculture and Pharmacy Common Entrance Test (EAPCET)-2024.