Karnataka govt revokes suspension of DGP Ramachandra Rao, reinstates him
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Wednesday revoked the suspension order of DGP K Ramachandra Rao and reinstated him into service with immediate effect.
According to the official order, the 1993-batch IPS officer has been posted, with immediate effect and until further orders, as Director General of Police (Police Manual).
"The post of Director General of Police (Police Manual) is declared equivalent in status and responsibilities to the cadre post of Director General of Police, Criminal Investigation Department, Special Units and Economic Offences, Bengaluru, under Rule 12 of the IPS (Pay) Rules, 2016, as included in Schedule II of the said rules," the government order stated.
Rao, who was then serving as Director General of Police (Civil Rights Enforcement), was placed under suspension with immediate effect on January 19, citing conduct unbecoming of a government servant and causing embarrassment to the state administration.
News channels had beamed videos purportedly showing Rao in a compromising position with women. The videos had also gone viral on social media.
Rao is the stepfather of Kannada actress Harshavardhini Ranya, alias Ranya Rao, who is accused of orchestrating the illegal import of gold worth over Rs 12.56 crore from Dubai to India along with two others--businessman Tarun Raju and jewellery dealer Sahil Jain.
Ranya was apprehended at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport on March 3, 2025, with 14.8 kilograms of gold allegedly smuggled from Dubai.
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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.
