"Rape is rape" and should not be politicised: PM
LONDON, April 19: Amid massive outrage across the country and beyond over the numerous rape cases that have surfaced recently, including the brutal rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said "rape is rape" and should not be politicised.
"When a child is raped... we cannot compare these incidents in numbers for different governments. Rape is rape... How can we accept this?" PM Modi asked on Wednesday.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi has been persistently attacking the Prime Minister and his BJP over the Kathua and Unnao rape cases. On Monday, Mr Gandhi had pointed out on Twitter that there were as many as 19,675 cases of rapes of children in 2016.
The prime minister today said that the recent sexual assaults were a matter of shame for India.
"Every time in our country... it is always the woman who is questioned. The person who is committing these crimes is also someone's son... The rape of a (daughter) is a matter of worry, a shame for the country," PM Modi said during an interaction with the Indian community at London's iconic Central Hall Westminster.
The PM was met by hundreds of protesters as he arrived in London as part of a four day visit today. The protesters displayed photos of the eight-year-old girl from a nomadic Muslim community in Kathua, who was raped and murdered in January, allegedly by a group that included policemen and a former government official.
PM Modi had last week said that justice will be done and no criminal will be spared, referring to the rape cases that has sparked outrage across India.
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In a first, Bengaluru woman loses Rs 2 lakh after pressing ‘1’ on fake IVR call: Report
Bengaluru: In what appears to be the first such cybercrime reported in Bengaluru, a 57-year-old woman reportedly lost Rs 2 lakh after following instructions and pressing a key during a fake IVR (Interactive Voice Response) call from a nationalised bank.
The woman, a resident of Dattatreyanagar in Hosakerehalli, received a call that appeared to be from the State Bank of India (SBI), a bank she holds an account with. The IVR message claimed that Rs 2 lakh was being transferred from her account and instructed her to press '1' if she did not authorize the transaction, as reported by the Times of India on Thursday.
"I was shocked on hearing the voice note as I had not done any such transaction. I didn't press any number. The voice note repeated, saying that I have not responded. I was confused. After three rounds of such announcements, I pressed 1 as I had not initiated the transaction. Soon after that, there was a second announcement stating, ‘Please visit your bank and contact the manager immediately.' Subsequently, the call got disconnected," she told the national daily.
Shortly after, the call disconnected, and she discovered a Rs 2 lakh loss in her account. She immediately contacted her bank and filed a complaint with the police.
Meanwhile, a senior police officer explained that fraudsters often use IVR calls to ask for personal details like the last four digits of a debit card, bank account number, date of birth, email ID, or other information needed to access online banking. "Once the victim shares the information, the money is siphoned off. Without sharing the credentials, it is not possible to siphon off money just by pressing the options 3 or 1 or 9," he told TOI.
The officer noted that the victim may have shared some information in response to the voice message, which could have allowed the fraudsters to access her account and steal the money. If she didn't provide any details, this type of scam would be new to them, and the investigation will provide more clarity.
A case has been registered under the Information Technology Act and BNS section 318 (cheating).
