Website founded by Maneka Gandhi hacked

NEW DELHI: The official website of People for Animals, an NGO founded by BJP MP Maneka Gandhi , was hacked on Friday. A group, Kerala Cyber Warriors (KCW), claimed responsibility for the act on its Facebook page.


“Spreading false information by a person especially being an ex-minister and a Lok Sabha member is a real threat to the nation and not acceptable," the hacker’s group wrote on the PFA website.

The site, which was hacked around 2.30pm, had not been restored till 7 pm.

The group was referring to a viral story about an elephant which died in Kerala after consuming a pineapple laid out as a wild boar trap. However, initial versions of the story shared on social media claimed that the pregnant elephant was fed the fruit forcefully in Malappuram . Maneka Gandhi, too, had said that the mammal died in Malappuram. Vinayaki, the elephant, had died in Palakkad district on May 27.

“Mallapuram is known for its intense criminal activity specially with regards to animals. No action has ever been taken against a single poacher or wildlife killer so they keep doing it,” she had posted from her Twitter account.

Several social media users had alleged that Maneka's tweet was "communally motivated."

“Your agenda is clear, love for animals is intertwined with hate for Muslims….The bond between Hindu and Muslim in Malappuram is strong. So, stay down, keep dreaming and keep it real,” the hacker’s group also wrote.

The PFA homepage also displayed a message which reads, “Maneka Gandhi dragged the sad death of pregnant elephant for dirty politics.”

On Facebook, where KCW has over 72k followers, the group posted a message in Malayalam around 3pm. “There is a lot of sorrow in the brutal way a pregnant elephant who was caught in Palakkad district was killed. But let us say another thing, even after knowing that it is Palakkad, not Malappuram district, there was a propaganda that it's the latter,” the group wrote.