I don't think mentioning WhatsApp in the title like this is fair (of the article). It's clearly not WhatsApp that's at fault, because you could replace it with almost any online communication platform that's popular.
This isn't even about private/encrypted communication, it's effectively about social media being used to direct mobs. From what I'm told, unlike most of the western world, it is common for mobs to violently target individuals in India for various reasons. WhatsApp just happens to be very popular in India, honestly this presentation by NY Times is titled like a hit piece, or the justifications of somebody who has such low expectations of the people involved that they'd blame the tool they choose to communicate instead.