Akshay Kumar says daughter was asked to send nude photo while playing online game
Mumbai (PTI): Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar on Friday said his teen daughter was asked to send her nude photo while playing an online video game on her mobile, but showed presence of mind and shut off the device.
The actor shared the disturbing incident before an audience, which included Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and senior police officials, at a cyber safety awareness programme in Mumbai.
Narrating the incident, the actor said his daughter was playing the online video game a few months ago, when she encountered an unknown person who initially sent friendly and encouraging messages.
The person then abruptly asked his daughter to send her nude picture, the actor said. Showing presence of mind, she immediately switched off the mobile phone, went to her mother and told her about what had happened, Akshay Kumar said.
The actor said his daughter’s alertness saved her from falling prey to cyber criminals.
Speaking after the inauguration of cyber awareness month at state police headquarters in south Mumbai, the actor requested Fadnavis that students of class 7 to 10 in the state should be taught cyber awareness in their schools.
Some time after his daughter began playing the online game, the person from the other side asked her where she was, and she replied that she was from Mumbai, he said.
As the game progressed, the person kept sending courteous messages. After some time, he asked her whether she was a male or female, to which the actor's daughter replied that she was a female.
After some time, the person asked her to send her nude pictures to him, Akshay Kumar said. “She immediately switched off the whole thing (mobile), went to her mother and told her what had happened,” the actor added.
"This is how everything begins. It is great that my daughter spoke to my wife about it," the actor said.
"This is a part of cyber crime, where children get carried away. In some cases, people face extortion and many things happen. There are many cases where the victim ends life,” the actor said.
The actor said, “In school, we learn history and maths. We also learn two plus two is four. But in the cyber world that four can become zero. Our children should learn all this.”
"I would like to request the CM that in Maharashtra schools from class 7 to 10, there should be a weekly ‘period’ on cyber safety,” he said. Cyber crime is bigger than street crime and we have to prevent it, he added.
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Kolkata Port: Decline in number of voters during SIR brings in uncertainty in TMC bastion
Kolkata (PTI): A sharp decline in the number of voters following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has injected an element of uncertainty into the Kolkata Port Assembly constituency, considered a safe seat for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The electorate in the south Kolkata constituency has dropped from 2.36 lakh in the 2021 Assembly polls to around 1.75 lakh, a fall of nearly 26 per cent, prompting political parties to closely assess its potential impact on the April 29 polling.
The TMC re-nominated senior minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, who has held the seat for two consecutive terms, while the BJP fielded Rakesh Singh. The Congress nominated Aquib Gulzar, and the CPI(M) put up Faiyaz Ahmad Khan, making it a four-cornered contest.
Kolkata Port, part of the Kolkata Dakshin parliamentary constituency, comprises dock areas, old business districts and densely populated neighbourhoods. Muslim voters form a significant segment of the electorate, alongside traders, transport workers and working-class Hindu families.
The reduction in voter numbers has prompted party workers across formations to scrutinise the revised rolls booth-wise to identify deletions and assess whether specific localities have been affected.
Singh’s candidature has added a twist to the contest. He had earlier contested against Hakim as a Congress candidate but is now in the fray on a BJP ticket.
Hakim won the seat in 2016 by 26,548 votes, defeating Singh, and increased his margin significantly to 68,554 votes in 2021, polling over one lakh votes.
While the TMC has expressed confidence in retaining the seat, opposition parties have raised concerns over the voter list revision, alleging that names of genuine voters have been removed.
“People here know who has stood by them. Elections are decided by trust,” Hakim told PTI during a campaign event.
Singh claimed several residents had complained about missing names in the rolls, stressing the need for transparency. The CPI(M) nominee also said voters in several areas had raised similar concerns.
The constituency has remained a difficult terrain for the opposition in recent elections.
Civic issues such as sanitation, traffic congestion and declining business activity in traditional markets also feature in the campaign in the constituency, though the revised voter list has emerged as a key talking point.
Polling in the constituency will be held in the second phase on April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.
