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Kerala IAS officer says phone hacked, religious WhatsApp groups created without consent
The Mallu Muslim Officers group was also formed with him as its admin. He said he deleted the group when his fellow officers alerted him about it.
An IAS officer in Kerala has filed a police complaint claiming his mobile phone was hacked by unidentified cyber criminals and religious WhatsApp groups were created without his consent.
The officer, K Gopalakrishnan, who is the director of industries and commerce in Kerala, claimed the hackers made him the admin for two WhatsApp groups – Mallu Hindu Officers and Mallu Muslim Officers, The Indian Express reported.
According to the officer, the Mallu Hindu Officers group was created on October 30. Several other senior officers were added to the group. After the officers flagged the impropriety of such a group, he deleted it.
The newspaper reported that the officer informed members of the group that his phone had been hacked. He told them that 11 such groups were created.
Later, the Mallu Muslim Officers group was also formed with him as its admin. He said he deleted the group when his fellow officers alerted him about it.
Thiruvananthapuram police commissioner Sparjan Kumar said that they have sought details about the groups from WhatsApp.
Kerala government to probe the officer's claims
The Kerala government will examine the incident involving creation of a WhatsApp group for Hindu IAS officers, state industries minister P Rajeeve said on Monday.
Responding to the controversy, Rajeeve said that the state government would investigate the formation of a group specifically for Hindu IAS officers.
"The government will look into this matter. There is a general code of conduct for IAS officers, which falls under the Public Administration department. We are currently examining the situation. Let’s review and determine what needs to be done," he told reporters in the national capital.
In his complaint, the officer stated that he had not added any officers to the groups in question. The incident occurred three days ago.
The police are investigating the case.
With inputs from PTI
