TMC moves EC over "The Great Khali" campaigning for BJP
Kolkata, Apr 28: After the BJP accused the Trinamool Congress of inviting Bangladeshi actors in its campaign in the state, it is the TMC's turn to move the EC alleging that "American" wrestler "The Great Khali" had taken part in the electioneering of a saffron party nominee here.
The TMC has lodged a complaint with the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer that BJP's candidate for Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency, Anupam Hazra, had taken the wrestler along while campaigning on April 26.
Dalip Singh Rana aka "The Great Khali" holds US citizenship and the BJP was trying to influence Indian voters by using his "celebrity status", the complaint said.
"A foreigner should not be allowed to influence the minds of the Indian electors as he has little or no knowledge as to who should be an appropriate MP in India," the complaint lodged by the TMC said.
In an interview to the media, Khali had said, "Whenever he (Hazra) calls me, wherever I am called, I will make it. I have specially come from America to support my younger brother. I want to request everyone to cast their votes for him. Do not waste your votes. Anupam is a learned man, he knows your troubles and will be able to serve you better than anyone else."
The TMC urged the EC to take "strictest possible steps against Khali as well as the candidate".
BJP leader Mukul Roy, however, said Khali holds the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card and can work and live in India.
The OCI is an immigration status permitting a foreigner of Indian origin to live and work in India indefinitely.
"Khali is an Indian citizen and therefore he has done no crime accompanying Anupam (Hazra) while filing nomination for the general elections," Roy, convener of BJP election management committee in West Bengal, told PTI.
The TMC had courted controversy after two Bangladeshi actors Ferdous Ahmed and Gazi Noor were seen participating at rallies of the TMC candidates.
Ferdous was seen at rallies of TMC's Raiganj nominee Kanhaiya Lal Agarwal in Hemtabad and Karandighi near the Indo-Bangladesh border while Noor was found on an open jeep at a roadshow for TMC's Dumdum candidate Sougata Roy.
The central government had expelled Ferdous and asked Noor, who had overstayed in the country, to leave India immediately following complaints lodged by the BJP.
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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.
