HYDERABAD: Ravindranath Balla, a Hyderabad-based advocate of the Telangana High Court and an activist working for the welfare of political prisoners, is among the many Indians who were targeted in the WhatsApp ‘spygate’ fiasco. A resident of Bagh Amberpet, Balla is also the general secretary for the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana chapter of Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP). Speaking to Express he said that he was intimated of the matter by a researcher of Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, Canada on October 7.
Citizen Lab has been tracking the spying attack perpetrated on WhatsApp and has contacted several victims. But, Bhalla did not trust the researcher’s messages, considering it spam. “It was only on October 29 when WhatsApp contacted me that I finally realised what happened,” he said.WhatsApp, in its message to Balla, said: “In May we stopped an attack where an advanced cyber actor exploited our video calling to install malware on user devices. There’s a possibility this phone number was impacted, and we want to make sure you know how to keep your mobile phone safe.”
Balla said that he was being spied upon because he was working for the freedom of various political prisoners, including Maoists. Blaming the Centre for the spying, he urged the Supreme Court to order a judicial review. “This is a clear indication that the government is targeting the citizens who question its policies. It is misusing the technology to conduct illegal surveillance on activists.
This exposé only substantiates our doubts that the government is hell-bent on silencing its critics. We strongly condemn this. This has legal implications for the government as well.”The State had named Bhalla, and several other leaders of mass organisations, activists and lawyers in an FIR claiming they have links with an outlawed group.