UP MLC carries urn to assembly premises, accuses govt of hiding Kumbh stampede death toll
Lucknow, Feb 18 (PTI): Carrying an urn labelled 'mortal remains of morality', Samajwadi Party MLC Ashutosh Sinha on Tuesday visited the Uttar Pradesh Assembly and flayed the Adityanath government for allegedly hiding the death toll in the Kumbh stampede.
Covering a distance of over three kilometres on a bicycle, Ashutosh Sinha hogged the media limelight as soon as he came near the Assembly premises.
"I have come here carrying the 'naitiktaa kaa asthi kalash (the urn carrying the mortal remains of morality)' on a cycle. The Maha Kumbh Mela is going on in Prayagraj. But, the 'naitiktaa' (morality) of the government has died. Many people have died. The government instead of expressing 'samvednaa' (sympathy), is hiding the statistics of the death toll," Sinha told PTI.
"They (apparently pointing towards the BJP) have worked to loot the democracy, especially in the bypolls held in the state. It proves that the morality of the government has died," he said.
On Mauni Amavasya (January 29), a stampede near the Sangam area at the Maha Kumbh led to the death of 30 devotees and left 60 others injured, according to the Uttar Pradesh government.
However, the opposition has been accusing the UP government of mismanagement and claimed that they have underreporting the Maha Kumbh stampede death toll.
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Deepfake video of Nirmala Sitharaman used to dupe Belagavi man in Rs 7.9 lakh scam
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): A 76-year-old man in Belagavi city was allegedly cheated of Rs 7.9 lakh in an online investment scam that used an AI-generated deepfake video misusing the name of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to lure investors, police said on Wednesday.
An online fraud case was registered at the cybercrime police station on May 1, they said.
According to Belagavi Police Commissioner Bhushan Gulabrao Borase, the victim, Prakash Gubbi, a senior citizen, stated in his complaint that in November last year, he came across a video on YouTube in which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman appeared to endorse an investment scheme.
The video also mentioned a link in its description for making investments.
The victim clicked on the link, entered his details, and was later contacted on social media by a person identifying himself as Adarsh Anand, who persuaded him to invest, the officer told reporters.
Citing the complaint, the officer said the victim initially invested a small amount, after which the application began showing profits of USD 65,000.
When he attempted to withdraw the amount, the accused demanded a “customs duty” payment of Rs 4.2 lakh, claiming it was required to process the withdrawal.
The victim paid the amount, after which he was asked to pay an additional Rs 2 lakh. It was at this stage that he realised he had been cheated. In total, he lost around Rs 7.9 lakh in the fraud, the officer added.
A case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, and police are investigating the matter, police said.
The commissioner cautioned the public not to trust such videos, stating that the finance minister does not endorse any such schemes.
He warned that such content is created using artificial intelligence and deepfake technology.
He further advised the public to remain vigilant, avoid offers that appear too good to be true on the internet, and invest only through legitimate, registered agencies or trusted channels.
Deepfake technology enables the creation of realistic videos, audio recordings, and images that can mislead viewers by superimposing one person’s likeness onto another, altering their words and actions. This can present a false narrative or spread misinformation.
