'Kazan beckons but sadly Manipur still awaits': Cong's dig at PM ahead of BRICS summit
New Delhi (PTI): Ahead of the BRICS Summit in Russia, the Congress took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and said Kazan certainly beckons but sadly Manipur still awaits.
Prime Minister Modi will attend the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan this week. He will pay a two-day visit to Kazan beginning Tuesday to attend the BRICS summit following an invitation by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Congress has repeatedly urged PM Modi to visit violence-hit Manipur, stressing that it would help restore peace and normalcy there.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Tomorrow the BRICS plus Summit begins in Kazan, Russia. Like most things the non-biological PM claims credit for, there is a solid pre-2014 history to such a Summit."
It was in November 2001 that the British economist Jim O'Neill first coined the term BRIC -- Brazil, Russia, India & China -- to draw attention to a quartet that could become major economic powers of the world by 2050, he pointed out.
In September 2006, foreign ministers of these four countries met in New York to explore how they could give political weight to O'Neill's economic concept, Ramesh said.
In June 2009, the presidents of China, Brazil, Russia and the Prime Minister of India met in Russia for the first ever BRIC Summit, he said, adding that South Africa was included in the group two years later when BRIC became BRICS.
New Delhi hosted the BRICS Summit in March 2012, the Congress leader noted.
"Now BRICS includes Egypt, Iran, UAE, and Ethiopia as full members. A number of other countries are waiting to join. The New Development Bank formally launched by BRICS in July 2014 is headquartered in Shanghai," he said.
"Kazan certainly beckons but sadly Manipur still awaits," Ramesh said.
Ethnic violence in Manipur first broke out on May 3 last year after a tribal solidarity march in the hill districts of the state to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
Since then, over 220 people belonging to both the Kuki and Meitei communities and security personnel have been killed in the continuing violence.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
