Latest news with #MaharashtraCyberPolice
Hindustan Times
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
CA aspirant held for posting derogatory images of Hindu deities online
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Cyber Police on Sunday arrested a 39-year-old aspiring chartered accountant from Indore for allegedly creating vulgar edits of Hindu deities and posting them on social media. According to the police, MP Medha Kulkarni had complained to the chief minister Devendra Fadnavis last year about distorted depictions of Hindu deities making rounds online. The CM directed the Director General of Police to take action against such social media users. Based on this complaint, the Maharashtra Cyber police have flagged social media accounts. Using technical analysis, they tracked the owner of this social media account, who was identified as a B Com graduate from Madhya Pradesh. The cyber police scanned his phone and allegedly found six additional X accounts he was running to disseminate similar obscene and provocative content online. These X accounts were operating in a coordinated manner, spreading derogatory material across various platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, online marketplaces, and pornographic websites, said a police officer. An FIR was registered against him under Sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups), 294 (offenses related to obscenity), and 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with Sections 67 and 67(A) which deals with publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. The police are investigating and conducting forensic analysis of the device to trace the real identities of the remaining six accounts, which are presumed to be fake. 'We have arrested the accused and are questioning about his motive and associates,' said the officer from Maharashtra cyber police. The aspirant was arrested and remanded to police custody till May 13. Crackdown on misinformation Maharashtra Cyber has removed 5038 posts from social media platforms, uploaded between April 22, after the terror attack in Pahalgam, and Monday. The officials said they removed content presumed to be fake news or misinformation regarding the military conflict between India and Pakistan, army movements, strategic operations, or retaliatory measures. Some of them carried content which could spread tension in the country that may cause serious risks to national security and escalate the conflict. The cybercrime unit issued an advisory on content not to post on social media.
The Hindu
10-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Surge in cyber attacks, Maharashtra cyber department warns to stay vigilant
Amid the rising tensions along the India-Pakistan border, Maharashtra State Cyber Department on Saturday (May 10, 2025), instructed citizens to 'stay vigilant' while interacting with digital content or accessing documents from unverified sources, as there has been a surge in cyber attacks after India launched 'Operation Sindoor'. Maharashtra Cyber Police has warned people about malware-infected files targeting individual user devices. 'These files are sent as government-related files so that the probability of engaging with the document is high, and once opened, can lead to data theft, system surveillance, or broader network compromise,' stated the Additional Director General of Police office. Operation Sindoor LIVE updates - May 10 Given the scenario, the authority has advised people to be cautious of clicking on unsolicited links or opening attachments from unverified sources. Users must refrain from downloading documents labelled as government files or opening them without confirming the authenticity of the source. Other instructions are to use updated antivirus software, regular system scans, secure login practices, and two-factor authentication. Operation Sindoor is a strategic countermeasure launched in response to the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, where 26 people lost their lives. Maharashtra State Cyber Department has been keeping an eye on online platforms to detect, and act upon unlawful digital activities. While doing so, the department has come across 'hostile' cyber entities, who in retaliation to Operation Sindoor are waging cyber warfare. 'The cyber-attacks, including Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and digital defacement campaigns, have intensified from the other side, attacking infrastructure systems and government websites. These attacks are aimed at disrupting essential public services and undermining the credibility of government platforms,' as per the Maharashtra Cybercrime officials. DDoS attack targets a server or application with malicious traffic so that legitimate traffic is unable to access the website.
Hindustan Times
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Pune student held for obscene texts, calls to minister
MUMBAI: A 24-year-old student from Pune has been arrested for sending inappropriate text messages and making repeated phone calls to a woman BJP minister. The Maharashtra Cyber Police arrested Amol Kale and charged him under Section 78 (stalking) and Section 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) and the Information Technology Act, 2000. Kale was arrested on a complaint filed by BJP officer bearer, Nikhil Bhamre, who had approached the Maharashtra cyber police two days ago. Police traced the caller to Bhosari in Pune. The local police finally picked up Kale, who hails from Beed district. He was taken into custody on Thursday, brought to Mumbai, and been remanded to police custody till Friday. Police said Kale had allegedly been stalking the minister for the last few days, by making repeated phone calls and sending her offensive messages, said a police officer. Kale has confessed to making the calls and police have also found the messages he allegedly sent the minister in his mobile phone. Police are yet to figure out why Kale was harassing and stalking the minister, said the officer.
The Hindu
02-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Man arrested for sending obscene message to Minister Pankaja Munde
Maharashtra Cyber Police arrested a man from Pune for allegedly making obscene phone calls and sending inappropriate messages to State Cabinet Minister Pankaja Munde. According to Cyber Police, Nikhil Bhamre, 26, who works as a social media coordinator at the Maharashtra BJP office in Mumbai, filed the complaint on April 29, as stated by DCP Sanjay Shintre. BJP's State-level social media coordinator, Prakash Gade, informed Mr. Bhamre that an unknown man had been making offensive calls to Ms. Munde and advised him to approach the police and file a complaint. The case also involves defamatory and obscene content about Ms. Munde on YouTube and other social media platforms. Sections 78 (stalking and contacting despite disinterest) and 79 (prohibiting words, gestures, or actions intended to insult a woman's modesty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with the Section 67 (publishing obscene content online) of the Information Technology Act, have been invoked. The accused, identified as Amol Kale, 25, was detained from Bhosari in Maharashtra's Pune district after police traced his location through the mobile number used for the calls. After the accused admitted to making the calls during interrogation, he was brought to Mumbai and formally arrested last night. Further investigation is under way in the case.
Hindustan Times
27-04-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Fairplay app operators laundered ₹4,000 crore abroad, reveals ED charge sheet
MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has revealed that the operators of the Fairplay betting app siphoned off over ₹4,000 crore outside India through fake companies, dummy bank accounts, and illegal payment gateways. According to the ED's chargesheet filed recently before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, the masterminds — Krish Laxmichand Shah, Chirag Shah, and Chintan Shah — routed the proceeds through 400 dummy bank accounts and bogus import transactions. The laundered funds were later invested in properties and businesses across the country. Fairplay, a sports betting and online casino platform, is not legally registered in India. Besides betting, the app also illegally streamed events like IPL matches and even enabled betting on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the ED probe revealed. Investigators also found links between Fairplay and the Mahadev Online Book (MOB) platform, another illegal betting network under ED scrutiny. The case originated from an FIR filed by Maharashtra Cyber Police in April 2023, following a complaint by Viacom18, which owns the IPL's digital rights. Viacom alleged that Fairplay illegally streamed matches, causing a loss of approximately ₹100 crore. In February 2025, the ED arrested Chirag and Chintan Shah, brothers who oversaw Fairplay's software operations. Meanwhile, three owners of Maa Sharda Sales — a firm accused of laundering ₹13 crore of betting proceeds — were denied anticipatory bail. To build credibility and retain users, Fairplay operators reportedly returned nearly 70% of the collected funds back to players, ED officials said. Investigations uncovered a complex laundering trail. Funds were first collected through dummy accounts in individuals' names, then routed through shell companies such as NS Online Services, Dynamic Services, and Signox Overseas. Some proceeds were pushed into pharmaceutical firms engaged in fake billing, before finally being transferred to offshore entities in Hong Kong, China, and Dubai. Payment gateways like Beffy Finserv Pvt Ltd and Truefund Innovations India Pvt Ltd helped disguise transactions and facilitated payouts worth ₹3,000 crore, by misusing arrangements with Axis Bank. Krish Shah, believed to be operating Fairplay from Dubai, established entities like Fair Play Sport LLC and Fairplay Management DMCC to manage operations in India. He even shifted the app's domain registration to Dubai-based Anil Dadlani to conceal ownership. In a bid to expand their reach, Fairplay roped in several celebrities for promotional campaigns, offering free IPL match streaming to attract users. These celebrities were later summoned by Maharashtra Cyber Police for endorsing the illegal platform. While Krish Shah and his associate Siddhant Iyer remain absconding, Chirag and Chintan Shah were arrested by the ED in February this year.
