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Hyderabad: A 24-year-old private employee in Hyderabad became a victim of cyber fraud, losing Rs. 9 lakhs.

According to the Cybercrime police, the woman received a call purporting to be from FedEx International Courier, informing her of a package containing illegal drugs addressed to her. The call was then transferred to individuals posing as officials from the National Defence Academy (NDA) in Mumbai, who claimed to be investigating drug trafficking. All conversations took place via Skype with multiple individuals impersonating police officers. The fraudsters threatened the victim, accusing her of involvement in money laundering.

The scammers obtained the victim’s personal details, including Aadhaar card, PAN card, and bank details (debit card information and bank statements for the past 5.5 years). They then instructed her to access her internet banking and take out a loan for Rs. 9 lakh, which she transferred to their account. The fraudsters warned the victim not to inform anyone about the incident, citing the sensitivity of the information, and closely monitored her activities. The victim eventually filed a complaint with the police.

Police warning to public:

• If a call raises suspicion, end the call immediately and report it to the nearest police station without hesitation.

• Be cautious of calls claiming to be from FedEx, BSNL, or TRAI, as these are commonly used tactics by fraudsters.

• Scammers often use psychological manipulation to exploit emotions and influence decision-making. Do not deposit money into unknown bank accounts based on false promises from strangers.

• Law enforcement agencies do not initiate contact via Skype calls and demand money transfers to resolve issues.

In recent incidents in Hyderabad, individuals have fallen victim to various scams, highlighting the growing threat of online fraud. A 31-year-old medical professional from Secunderabad was targeted by an advanced cyber fraud scheme. The targeted person received a phone call from an individual claiming to be from FedEx, alleging that an illegal package had been shipped from Mumbai to Iran.

In another incident, a 27-year-old female private employee from Hyderabad fell victim to a scam while seeking a match on Shaadi.com.

Additionally, a 44-year-old housewife residing in Hyderabad has been defrauded of Rs. 21,73,000 in an online scam conducted through the messaging app Telegram. The victim, whose identity remains confidential, fell prey to the fraudulent scheme after receiving messages from accounts identified as @PUYFU63, @JollyBiswas269, and @Joyless.

In another case, a man was cheated by the NoBroker website, which failed to transfer his Rs. 45,000 token payment intended for purchasing a property.

Cybercrime officials continue to investigate these incidents, and the public and victims of online fraud are encouraged to report promptly to the Cyber Crime Helpline at 1930 or visit cybercrime.gov.in for assistance.

Hyderabad: Residents of Mokila are deeply concerned and facing significant challenges due to safety issues plaguing their area. These include the absence of street lights from Kokapet to Shankarpally, rampant wrong-side driving, and frequent road accidents. The presence of a liquor shop on the main road exacerbates the situation, leading to dangerously high speeds by intoxicated drivers on deserted roads. Moreover, multiple accidents have been attributed to the reckless speeding of construction trucks, lorries, and multi-axle vehicles. Residents are urgently demanding action from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), particularly the immediate installation of street lights to enhance safety along this critical stretch of road.

While speaking to Hyderabad Mail, Amar Juluri, a resident of Mokila, said, “I have been living in Mokila for the past 3.5 years. While the locality is peaceful and green, residents face daily challenges due to the lack of street lights from Kokapet to Shankarpally, excessive wrong-side driving, and frequent accidents on the road. A liquor shop right on the main road also leads to drunken drivers speeding dangerously on empty roads.”

Amar Juluri further added, “Speeding construction trucks, lorries, and multi-axle long trucks have caused numerous accidents. Despite life-threatening accidents in the recent past, there are still instances of rash driving by students of ICFAI (IBS). There is hardly any vigilance and control on these roads. With heavy rains, driving on dark roads has become scary.”

Amar, the resident, expressed concern that his family worries about safety whenever someone steps onto the road. While this issue may appear common on many Indian roads, he requests street lights along the entire stretch from Gandipet Junction to Shankarpally. Mokila, home to over 2 lakh highly educated residents who contribute taxes and engage in significant charity, deserves basic amenities. He hopes for prompt and positive action soon.

Dr. Srikanth Sundararajan took to ’X’ (previously known as Twitter), tagged relevant officials, and posted, “@GHMCOnline @CommissionrGHMC @TelanganaCMO @KVishReddy. This is the 4th time I am raising a real concern: no street lights between Kollur and Mokila, heavy vehicles with no lights, and two/four-wheelers driven on the wrong side causing accidents! Please attend to this – we are taxpayers!”

@GHMCOnline @CommissionrGHMC @TelanganaCMO @KVishReddy
This is the 4xth time I am raising a real concern,no street lights between Kollur and Mokila – heavy vehicles with no lights, 2/4 wheelers driven on the wrong side – accidents! Please attend to this – we are tax payers!

— Dr. Srikanth Sundararajan (@SundarSrik) June 28, 2024

One of the residents also replied to the Twitter post, saying, “Street lights were installed 3 years ago, but no power connection has been given to them. Instead, power is provided to lollypops (hoardings on the divider). This shows what officials care about. Their revenue is more important than the lives of citizens.”

Hyderabad: Come July 1, the Indian penal code(IPC) would be replaced with Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita,2023 (BNS). The BNS got the assent of the President Draupadi Murmu in December last year.

In connection with these changes, the Union government has issued three gazette notifications, informing the enforcement of three new criminal laws – Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Act (BSA), these new laws would be replacing, Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA) respectively.

What’s changed?

“The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which will replace CrPC, which has a total of 484 sections, will now have 531 sections. 177 sections have been changed, 9 new sections have been added and 14 sections have been repealed. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which will replace the IPC, will now have 358 sections instead of the earlier 511 sections. 21 new offences have been added in it, the term of imprisonment has been increased in 41 offences, the penalty has been increased in 82 offences, mandatory minimum punishment has been introduced in 25 crimes, there are provisions of community service as a punishment in 6 crimes and 19 sections have been repealed. Similarly, the BharatiyaSakshya Bill, which will replace the Evidence Act, will now have 170 sections instead of the earlier 167, 24 sections have been amended, 2 new sections have been added and 6 sections have been repealed,” as per the official note released by the Government.

Some highlights in BNS

As per the IPC, the victim can go to any police station and lodge a zero FIR, while maintaining the same, the BNS made it compulsory to transfer the case to the concerned police station within 24 hours.

While the IPC has only five types of punishments, including, death, imprisonment for life, imprisonment (rigorous and simple) forfeit of property, fine, now, the sixth type of punishment is introduced, which is Community service.

As per the BNS, A provision was made to ensure the visit of the Forensic Science Laboratory(FSL) team will be compulsory in crimes punishable with more than 7 years.

In the new BNS, the Sedition has been converted into treason. The offence of Sedition is replaced with treason. The offence of ‘Sedition ’ is eliminated and BNS penalizes “acts endangering the unity and integrity of India”, ‘Rajdroh ’ repealed with introduction of ‘Deshdroh’

As per the BNS, now the judge will have to give his decision within 45 days of the end of the case. Along with this, there will be only 7 days between decision and punishment. Mercy petitions can be filed only within 30 days of the Supreme Court rejecting the appeal.

As per the BNS, steps have been taken to rationalize remission of the sentence. If there is a death penalty then the maximum can be life imprisonment, it cannot be less than this. If it is life imprisonment, then 7 years punishment has to be served and if it is 7 years or more, then at least 3 years have to be spent in jail.