India strongly condemns death of civilians, says Modi amidst Israeli aggression

Mangaluru: In a shocking case of cyber fraud, an engineer from Mangaluru lost ₹30 lakh after being deceived by a scammer posing as a Mumbai police head constable.

On October 10, the engineer received a phone call, during which the scammer falsely claimed that 25 fraudulent bank accounts had been opened in his name. The caller alleged these accounts were being used for illegal transactions and urged the victim to act immediately to avoid legal trouble.

The scammer manipulated the engineer into believing that all funds in his personal bank account needed to be transferred for "verification" by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In a state of panic, the victim complied, transferring ₹30 lakh to multiple accounts provided by the fraudster.

Adding to the deception, the victim was told to send WhatsApp updates every 20 minutes to track the "progress." Realizing the fraud only after the transfers were completed, the victim filed a complaint, and a case has been registered at the Bajpe police station.

This incident serves as a stark reminder for the public to stay cautious and verify information before acting on unsolicited calls, especially those involving sensitive financial details.

Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on Monday warned passengers not to fly on Air India flights from November 1 to 19. He asserted that an attack could take place on an Air India flight during the specified dates, which coincide with the "40th anniversary of the Sikh genocide".

The founder of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), who holds dual citizenship in Canada and the US, had issued a similar threat around the same time last year.

Pannun's fresh threat comes amid several airlines in India receiving multiple threat calls about potential bombings, all of which turned out to be hoaxes. It also occurred at a time when India and Canada are engaged in a murky diplomatic row following Canada's allegations of India targeting Khalistani elements in the country, including the murder of another terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

In November 2023, Pannun released a video claiming that Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport would be renamed and would remain closed on November 19, warning people against flying on Air India that day. The National Investigation Agency charged him with criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, and various offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

In December last year, Pannun threatened to attack the Parliament on or before December 13, following reports of an alleged foiled plot to kill him. December 13 marks the anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Parliament in 2001.

He also threatened to kill Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Director General of State Police Gaurav Yadav on Republic Day this year. He also urged gangsters to unite and launch an attack on Mann on January 26.

Pannun has been designated a terrorist by the Ministry of Home Affairs since July 2020 on charges of sedition and secessionism, as he leads SFJ, a group advocating for a separate sovereign Sikh state. A year prior to this, India banned SFJ as an "unlawful association" for engaging in "anti-national and subversive" activities.

In another development, on October 17, the United States charged a former officer of India's spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder Pannun, a charge New Delhi has rejected as baseless allegations.

A Bengaluru-bound Akasa Air flight and Delhi-bound IndiGo flight received bomb threats on Wednesday, taking the number of such threats to 12 in three days.

An Akasa Air spokesperson said the flight QP 1335 had 177 persons, including 3 infants, and seven crew members on board. The flight returned to Delhi.

Meanwhile, IndiGo's 6E 651 Mumbai-Delhi flight was redirected to Ahmedabad. The aircraft was isolated, and all passengers were safely disembarked, an IndiGo Spokesperson said.

Apart from an Air India Delhi-Chicago flight, the Dammam-Lucknow IndiGo flight, Ayodhya-Bengaluru Air India Express, a SpiceJet flight from Darbhanga to Mumbai (SG116), an Akasa Air flight from Bagdogra to Bengaluru (QP 1373) an Alliance Air Amritsar-Dehradun-Delhi flight (9I 650) and an Air India Express flight (IX 684) from Madurai to Singapore received bomb threats on Tuesday.

On Monday, two IndiGo and one Air India flight received hoax threats. These included an Air India flight AI119 from Mumbai to New York's JFK Airport, and IndiGo flight 6E1275 bound for Muscat, and flight 6E56 heading to Jeddah.

A Parliamentary Standing Committee met at 11 am over the issue. This was preceded by a meeting called by Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu with Civil Aviation Ministry and DGCA officials.

According to sources some culprits have been identified and the dark web is also being monitored.