Supriya Sule confirms her WhatsApp was hacked; two others also targeted
Among the victims were a non-political person and the party's general secretary. Sule also said her family had received an IT notice, wondering about the timing
Mumbai: Supriya Sule, working president of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), confirmed on Monday that the WhatsApp accounts of three individuals, including herself, had been hacked. Among the victims were a non-political person and the party's general secretary, Aditi Nalawade.
Sule recounted the incident, stating, "I was in Daund when I received a WhatsApp message from this person. After reading the message, I found that my WhatsApp was not working. I asked Jayant Patil, who was sitting next to me, to send me a message on WhatsApp. I did not receive the message from him, but he got a reply. It meant someone else was using my WhatsApp. I turned off my mobile phone."
She then instructed her team to investigate if anyone else's WhatsApp had been compromised. "We then came to know about Aditi Nalawade's WhatsApp number being hacked as well. Messages were sent from mine and her WhatsApp asking for ₹10,000. Those who received the message thought there was an emergency and called her back asking what had happened," Sule explained.
The hackers also demanded $400 from Sule and her team after breaching her WhatsApp. "It was like blackmail, which I ignored," she told reporters at YB Chavan Centre, Nariman Point.
In Nalawade's case, the hackers requested ₹10,000. "For tracking purposes, we kept them engaged and asked where to come with the money. They asked to transfer it into a bank account and shared details of a state bank," Sule added.
The Baramati MP urged people to be cautious and use additional security measures for their phones and WhatsApp accounts. "The incident needs to be taken seriously by the government, the service providers and us as well. We all need a firewall as privacy is our choice," she insisted.
Sule also disclosed that her family had received a notice from the income tax department, wondering about the timing. "We have received a notice from the income tax department soon after the budget session," she revealed, adding, "I don't know if it is a coincidence, but every time I speak in Parliament, Sadanand Sule (her husband) gets a notice from income tax."
She has asked her husband to compile data regarding these notices, stating, "I don't want to make allegations." Sule mentioned that they had received similar notices six to seven times in the past concerning an old case, though she did not share specific details.