Pegasus attack has serious implications for rule of law, say senior retired police officers

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.