TMC alleges central forces "intimidating" voters
Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress Sunday alleged that the central forces were "brutally torturing" and "intimidating" voters in West Bengal and acting as per orders of BJP leaders.
In a statement, Trinamool Congress lawmaker Derek O' Brien said, Bengal wants peaceful polling, which BJP doesn't.
"Today, in Bengal, central forces are brutally torturing and intimidating common citizens, especially the marginalised. Even physically handicapped persons are being tortured. Central forces are also threatening voters 'kamal dabao nahin toh thok dega' (vote for BJP or will shoot you)," he said.
"Media has all these videos. Many are already in the public domain," he added.
The BJP termed the allegations baseless and said it was goons supported by the TMC who were trying to intimidate voters.
In Delhi, BJP leader and Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman also urged the poll body to order the central forces to remain in Bengal till the Model Code of Conduct is in place, as it expressed concern that the TMC may target a section of voters after polling is over.
An estimated 49.70 per cent of over 1.49 crore electorate exercised their franchise till 1 pm in nine Lok Sabha constituencies of West Bengal on Sunday, amid reports of EVM glitches and stray incidents of violence.
Polling is currently underway in Kolkata North, Kolkata South, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, Joynagar (SC) and Mathurapur (SC) in the seventh and final phase of the staggered general elections.
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FIR filed after e-commerce platform linked tech firm alleges SMS spoofing fraud
Bengaluru (PTI): An FIR has been registered against unknown people for allegedly sending fraudulent messages in the name of an e-commerce platform with promises of cash rewards, further disrupting its operations, police said on Wednesday.
The offence is said to have taken place between April 23 and April 27, they said.
A representative of city-based technology company Hiveloop Technology Pvt Ltd (HTPL), part of the Udaan group (eB2B platform), has lodged a complaint alleging a large-scale SMS spoofing fraud following which a detailed investigation has been initiated into the matter, a senior police officer said.
According to the FIR, HTPL is a registered entity on the TRAI-mandated DLT platform, which permits only pre-approved SMS templates and whitelisted URLs to be sent through authorised sender IDs.
The issue came to light on April 23, when HTPL received alerts from buyers about fraudulent SMS messages appearing to originate from the company's sender ID "UDAANN". The messages reportedly contained Bitly links and falsely claimed a credit of Rs 10,001, urging recipients to withdraw money, it said.
On April 27, at around 12:49 pm, the DLT platform blacklisted HTPL's SMS templates, citing their alleged use in sending fraudulent messages. Within minutes, the company's sender ID was also blacklisted. Airtel's DLT system subsequently confirmed the action and shared details of the fraudulent messages that were circulated in HTPL's name without its knowledge or consent, the FIR stated.
Following this, the company's messaging operations were affected, and even legitimate communications such as one-time passwords to buyers began failing. Later, the DLT operator suspended HTPL's entire account following complaints raised on TRAI's Chakshu platform, bringing all SMS services of the company to a halt, it further stated.
HTPL has stated that neither it nor its authorised vendors sent the fraudulent messages. The links embedded in the messages reportedly redirected users to an online betting website, the FIR stated.
The company has claimed that the incident has resulted in a complete breakdown of SMS-based services, including buyer authentication, order updates and promotional communication, leading to significant financial losses.
At least 13 victims have been identified so far, with the possibility of more affected users. Victims were allegedly directed to an online betting platform, raising concerns of potential financial fraud, the FIR added.
