Indian-origin IT executive dies after being assaulted in US
Washington (PTI): A 41-year-old Indian-origin IT executive has died after suffering life-threatening injuries during an assault outside a restaurant in the American capital here, the seventh death of an Indian or Indian-American in the country in recent months.
The victim, identified as Vivek Taneja, a resident of Alexandria, a Virginia suburb of Washington DC, was attacked on February 2 in the 1100 block of 15th Street NW, which is seven blocks away from the White House.
The police reached the assault scene at 2 am and found that he was suffering from life-threatening injuries as a result of the assault. He was transported to a trauma centre unconscious and with severe head injuries.
"On Wednesday, February 7, 2024, the victim succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead," said the Metropolitan Police, Washington DC in a statement on Friday.
The picture of the suspect captured by a surveillance camera has been released by the police, which has offered an award of up to USD25,000 to anyone who provides information and leads to his arrest.
No arrest has been made so far.
In its report, the police said Vivek Taneja was knocked to the ground by the suspect and hit his head on the pavement.
Taneja, the police said, had an altercation with another man at Shoto and Akedo, two sister Japanese restaurants in the Midtown Center building.
Taneja was the co-founder and president of Dynamo Technologies, a technology solutions and analytics product provider to the federal government.
According to the company website, Taneja led Dynamo's strategic, growth, and partnership initiatives, with an emphasis on the federal government contracting arena.
A systems engineer by training, he led numerous technical consulting engagements across the public and private sectors.
Taneja received his B.A. in Economics and Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Virginia, his M.S. in Telecommunications from George Mason University, and his D.Eng. in Engineering Management and Systems Engineering from George Washington University.
Earlier this week, Syed Mazahir Ali, an Indian student was attacked by robbers in Chicago.
Earlier, 25-year-old Indian student Vivek Saini was fatally attacked in Georgia state's Lithonia city by a homeless drug addict.
Last week, a student at the Lindner School of Business in the US state of Ohio identified as 19-year-old Shreyas Reddy Beniger was found dead. However, local authorities have ruled out foul play.
Sameer Kamath, a 23-year-old Indian-American student at Purdue University, was found dead in a nature preserve in Indiana on February 5.
Another Indian student, identified as Neel Acharya at Purdue University, Indiana, was confirmed dead days after being reported missing on January 28.
Akul B Dhawan, an 18-year-old at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was found dead last month with signs of hypothermia.
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Deepfake video of Nirmala Sitharaman used to dupe Belagavi man in Rs 7.9 lakh scam
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): A 76-year-old man in Belagavi city was allegedly cheated of Rs 7.9 lakh in an online investment scam that used an AI-generated deepfake video misusing the name of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to lure investors, police said on Wednesday.
An online fraud case was registered at the cybercrime police station on May 1, they said.
According to Belagavi Police Commissioner Bhushan Gulabrao Borase, the victim, Prakash Gubbi, a senior citizen, stated in his complaint that in November last year, he came across a video on YouTube in which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman appeared to endorse an investment scheme.
The video also mentioned a link in its description for making investments.
The victim clicked on the link, entered his details, and was later contacted on social media by a person identifying himself as Adarsh Anand, who persuaded him to invest, the officer told reporters.
Citing the complaint, the officer said the victim initially invested a small amount, after which the application began showing profits of USD 65,000.
When he attempted to withdraw the amount, the accused demanded a “customs duty” payment of Rs 4.2 lakh, claiming it was required to process the withdrawal.
The victim paid the amount, after which he was asked to pay an additional Rs 2 lakh. It was at this stage that he realised he had been cheated. In total, he lost around Rs 7.9 lakh in the fraud, the officer added.
A case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, and police are investigating the matter, police said.
The commissioner cautioned the public not to trust such videos, stating that the finance minister does not endorse any such schemes.
He warned that such content is created using artificial intelligence and deepfake technology.
He further advised the public to remain vigilant, avoid offers that appear too good to be true on the internet, and invest only through legitimate, registered agencies or trusted channels.
Deepfake technology enables the creation of realistic videos, audio recordings, and images that can mislead viewers by superimposing one person’s likeness onto another, altering their words and actions. This can present a false narrative or spread misinformation.
