New Delhi, May 8 -- A phone number belonging to Niti Aayog vice chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri was allegedly hacked on Thursday evening, he claimed in a Facebook post the same day. He claimed the hacker used the number to send WhatsApp messages to multiple people seeking money requests.

Lahiri is supposed to assume office on Friday.

"Just to inform everyone that my personal phone number has been hacked. If I get anyone asking money, sending phonepe/google pay number or any other financial help message from this number, please don't trust anyone and make any money transactions. This is totally fake and deceptive act. Be careful and let others know. Thank you," he wrote, in a loose translation from Bengali, on Facebook.

In a screenshot of a...