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The Rajasthan Education Department’s website was hacked and defaced with a mocking message about Abhinandan Varthaman’s 2019 capture and the Pahalgam terror attack.
The website has been temporarily taken offline for restoration to its original state. (Getty/Representative Image)
The official website of the Rajasthan education department was hacked on Tuesday, displaying a message mocking the Indian government over the 2019 capture of Indian Air Force officer Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan. The hackers defaced the homepage with the provocative message and also posted objectionable content referencing the recent Pahalgam terror attack.
As soon as the breach was detected, Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar instructed the department’s IT team to restore the website without delay. The site has since been temporarily taken offline to facilitate a complete restoration to its original state.
“The department has alerted cyber security agencies, and a detailed investigation has begun to identify the perpetrators behind the cyber attack and assess the extent of the potential data compromise,” said Dilawar.
He added that, so far, no evidence of sensitive data leakage has emerged. However, the entire system is undergoing a comprehensive audit to ensure security and integrity.
Earlier in the day, the homepage of the compromised site displayed the message “Fantastic Tea Club Pakistan Cyber Force,” along with disturbing content referencing the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 26 people, most of whom were tourists.
The message appears to be a deliberate attempt to mock India by bringing up the 2019 incident involving Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. During a dogfight in February 2019, Varthaman’s MiG-21 Bison was shot down by Pakistan after it violated Indian airspace in an attempt to strike military installations in Jammu and Kashmir. This move was in retaliation to India’s air strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed’s largest terror training facility in Balakot, Pakistan.
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The IAF officer was captured and held in Pakistan for over two days before being returned to India. The Pakistani military had released multiple videos of him in custody. In one of the clips, the officer was seen composed and calm, sipping tea and responding courteously to questions — including one about the tea, to which he famously replied, “The tea is fantastic.”
Authorities continue to investigate the breach while efforts to fully restore and secure the education department’s website remain underway.
