Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's official 'X' (formerly Twitter) account was briefly hacked on Sunday, with the hackers posting images of the flags of Pakistan and Turkey, officials said.
The incident occurred hours before the high-voltage Asia Cup clash between India and Pakistan. Hackers also live-streamed visuals featuring symbols associated with the two countries.
"We immediately alerted the cyber crime cell," an official from Shinde's team told PTI. "Our social media team managed to regain control of the account within 30 to 45 minutes."
Meanwhile, former Maharashtra Congress president Patole said the incident was shocking and raised questions over the state's cyber security framework.
He said the hacking episode sparked sharp reactions, particularly from the Gen-Z population, who have asked that if the social media accounts of senior ministers cannot remain secure, what guarantee do ordinary citizens have regarding their online safety?
It has also put the state's home department under the spotlight, with critics asking who would take responsibility and what concrete mechanisms are in place to ensure protection of citizens' digital data, the Congress MLA said in a post on X.
The government recently announced its 'Golden Data' scheme aimed at creating a centralised database.
However, the breach of a minister's account has raised doubts over the robustness of security measures for government websites and sensitive official data, he said.
Patole demanded that the home department provide clear answers to safeguard citizens from cyber threats.
(With inputs from PTI)