Supriya Sule confirms her WhatsApp was hacked along with two others

Sule sent an online complaint to Pune rural police following which the cops found that her WhatsApp account was active on another device. They managed to restore her account in a few hours

Mumbai: Supriya Sule, working president of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), confirmed on Monday that the WhatsApp accounts of three individuals, including herself, were hacked. Among the victims were a non-political person and the party’s general secretary, Aditi Nalawade.

**EDS: SCREENSHOT VIA PTI VIDEOS** Mumbai: NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule addresses a press conference, in Mumbai, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. (PTI Photo)(PTI08_12_2024_000186B) (PTI)

The hackers also demanded $400 USD ( ₹33,579) from Sule and her team after breaching her WhatsApp. Sule recounted the incident and stated, “I was in Daund, in Pune district, when I received a WhatsApp message from a person. After reading the message, I found that my WhatsApp stopped working. I asked Jayant Patil, who was sitting next to me, to send me a message on WhatsApp. I did not receive a text from him, but he got a reply. This clearly meant that someone else was using my WhatsApp. I turned off my mobile phone.”

Sule sent an online complaint to Pune rural police following which the cops found that her WhatsApp account was active on another device. They managed to restore her account in a few hours.

The message Sule received read, “Hello! I am sorry I sent you my 6-digit code by SMS by mistake. Can you pass it to me please? It is urgent! SMS code.”

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.

And then the hackers demanded US dollars. “It was like blackmail, which I ignored,” she told reporters at YB Chavan Centre, Nariman Point.

In Nalawade’s case, the hackers asked for ₹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, and she was 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.