Successful night trial of Prithvi-II missile
Balasore (Odisha), Oct 6 : India's Strategic Forces Command Saturday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile during night time as part of a user trial by the Army from a test range in Odisha, defence sources said.
The surface-to-surface missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, was launched from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near Balasore around 8.30 pm, they said.
Prithvi-II was previously successfully test-fired during night time on February 21 this year from the ITR at Chandipur.
The missile is capable of carrying 500 to 1,000 kilogramme of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines. The state-of-the-art missile uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target, they said.
The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activities were carried out by the specially-formed Strategic Forces Command of the Army and monitored by the scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of training exercise, they said.
"The missile trajectory was tracked by radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations by the DRDO along the coast of Odisha," the sources said.
The downrange teams on board the ship deployed near the designated impact point in the Bay of Bengal monitored the terminal events and splashdown.
On November 21, 2016, two Prithvi-II missiles were successfully test fired in salvo mode in quick succession from the same base.
Inducted into the Armed forces of the country in 2003, the nine-metre-tall, single-stage liquid-fuelled Prithvi-II is the first missile to have been developed by the DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, the sources said.
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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.
