14 farmers arrested in Haryana's Kaithal for stubble-burning
Chandigarh (PTI): Fourteen farmers were arrested in Haryana's Kaithal district over the past few days for burning stubble in their fields, a police official said on Monday, as pollution levels in the region, including the national capital, soar.
Stubble-burning in Haryana and neighbouring Punjab is often blamed for the rise in pollution levels in Delhi, especially during the post-harvest season of October and November.
"During the past few days, fourteen farmers were arrested for burning stubble, but they were later released on bail as the offence is bailable," Kaithal's Deputy Superintendent of Police (Headquarters) Birbhan said over the phone.
Cases have been lodged under the provisions of Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and other relevant provisions of the law for burning stubble, he said.
FIRs were registered recently for stubble-burning in some other districts also, including Panipat and Yamunanagar.
Haryana Chief Secretary T V S N Prasad on Sunday directed deputy commissioners to ensure stubble-burning incidents are effectively curtailed.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Punjab and Haryana governments over the non-prosecution of those found guilty of stubble-burning. It has summoned the chief secretaries of the both states to appear before it on October 23 for an explanation.
A bench of justices Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Augustine George Maish pointed out "complete insensitivity" on the part of the two states, directing the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to take penal action against their government officials for the failure to take action against the violators.
Farmers set paddy residue ablaze to clear their fields to sow wheat, a Rabi crop, as the window between harvesting and sowing is very short.
Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Congress general secretary and Sirsa MP Kumari Selja recently demanded that the government fix an MSP for stubble and buy it from farmers.
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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.
