Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri's Phone Number Hacked, Money Requests Sent
1 day agoTech
35LENS
2 SourcesIndia
TBNthebalanced.news

Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri's Phone Number Hacked, Money Requests Sent

Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri reported that his personal phone number was hacked, with the impostor using WhatsApp to send money requests to contacts. The messages sought ₹56,000, claiming UPI services were down and promising repayment. Attempts to call Lahiri went unanswered. Officials noted such scams often involve OTP theft or SIM swapping. Reporting to the Cybercrime portal and WhatsApp is advised, though WhatsApp's lack of mandatory two-factor authentication leaves users vulnerable.

Political Bias
0%100%0%
Sentiment
40%
AI analysis of 2 sources · Published under editorial oversight by The Balanced News
Analysed 8 May 2026· How this analysis is produced· Editorial standards· Corrections

AI Analysis

Political bias across 2 sources
● Left 0%● Center 100%● Right 0%

The articles present a straightforward report focusing on the hacking incident without political framing. The coverage centers on the victim's statement and official cybersecurity advice, avoiding partisan perspectives. Both sources emphasize technical and procedural aspects, reflecting a neutral stance without political commentary or bias.

Sentiment — Neutral (40/100)

The tone across the articles is cautionary and factual, highlighting the security breach and potential risks to users. There is no emotional or sensational language; instead, the coverage aims to inform readers about the scam and preventive measures, resulting in a neutral to slightly concerned sentiment.

How 2 sources covered this story

Each source's own headline, political lean, and sentiment — so you can see framing differences at a glance.

SourceTheir headlineBiasSentiment
hindustantimesNiti Aayog VC Ashok Kumar Lahiri's phone number hackedCenterNeutral
hindustantimesNITI Aayog VC Ashok Kumar Lahiri says phone number hacked, money requests sentCenterNeutral

Coverage timeline

hindustantimes broke this story on 7 May, 05:09 pm. Other outlets followed.

  1. 1
    hindustantimes7 May, 05:09 pm
    NITI Aayog VC Ashok Kumar Lahiri says phone number hacked, money requests sent
  2. 2
    hindustantimes8 May, 12:01 am
    Niti Aayog VC Ashok Kumar Lahiri's phone number hacked

Lens Score breakdown

35/100
Public interest0/100
Coverage gap100%

Story is receiving appropriate media attention relative to public interest.

Who's involved

Institutions and figures named across source coverage.

Government
Niti AayogNITI AayogDepartment of Telecommunication
Corporate
WhatsApp

Story context

Category
Tech
Location
India
Sources analysed
2
Last analysed
8 May 2026
Key entities
WhatsAppSecurity hackerBengali languageFacebookIndian rupeeTelecommunicationsSIM swap scamOne-time passwordMulti-factor authenticationPhishingConfidence trickHindustan Times