Mumbai: Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has now issued an order to take action against content and materials promoting online terrorism. ATS found during its action against Pakistani don Shahzad Bhatti and gangster Lawrence Bishnoi that along with spreading online terrorism, youth are being misled online. ATS analysis has revealed that attempts are being made to mislead through online and digital and social media media through audio and video. Therefore, if anyone on social media publishes and propagates controversial content, PDF, which is tantamount to a threat to the integrity of the country and harms brotherhood and unity, then action will be taken against him. ATS found during its investigation that misleading propaganda has been done in 114 PDFs, magazines, digital contents, after which ATS has also seized them. If anyone publishes controversial content and materials on social media, then action will also be taken against him. The order has been issued under the GATS Public Safety Act 2023. This order has come into force from August 6. If anyone violates it, action will be taken against him. Maharashtra ATS has appealed to the citizens to stay away from misleading and propaganda videos and other content and materials that promote terrorism on social media, otherwise action may be taken against them. ATS Chief Noel Bajaj has appealed to the citizens to refrain from misuse of social media. Along with this, the ATS had also intensified action against other gangsters including Shahzad Bhatti. Accordingly, the ATS had also questioned those in contact with Shahzad Bhatti and Lawrence Bishnoi. Their social media accounts were checked and later they were released. ATS has now started monitoring social media as well. If anyone tries to promote terrorism on social media, action will be taken against him.

Mumbai, Aug 7: The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Friday questioned the ideological alignment between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its parent organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), accusing the ruling political establishment of ‘suppressing’ youth protests while the RSS maintains an ambiguous stance.

The Thackeray camp, in an editorial in the party’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, criticised RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s decision to host an outreach session in Mumbai with Gen Z to understand youth unrest in the wake of the recent Jantar Mantar student demonstrations.

The editorial labelled the move ‘hypocritical’, pointing out that while Bhagwat seeks dialogue, the Central government has engaged in a heavy-handed police crackdown against student activists.

The editorial highlighted a severe contradiction within the Sangh Parivar, noting that while BJP leaders and affiliated groups have branded protesting students as “anti-national” and part of the “Tukde Tukde Gang”, the RSS leadership is attempting to project an image of mediation and open communication.

The Thackeray camp cited specific instances of alleged police harassment, pointing to youth leaders such as Riya Ahir, who was targeted by law enforcement after attempting to prevent the unlawful detention of fellow protesters in Mumbai. Despite public statements from the Prime Minister offering pardons to student protesters, it reported that police agencies under the Home Ministry continue to intimidate students and their families at university campuses and private residences.

Indian democracy is being transformed into an autocracy, “with constitutional institutions dismantled, national assets privatised, and human values eroded,” it said.

“Ideally, the RSS should have raised its voice against these trends. Instead, it remained silent while youth took to the streets to denounce authoritarianism. Is this stance deemed appropriate by Mohan Bhagwat?” asked the editorial.

Recalling the 1975 Emergency, when the RSS actively opposed bans on strikes, protests, and civil liberties, the editorial accused current RSS leadership of remaining silent while similar authoritarian measures are deployed against today’s youth.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena argued that any genuine outreach by the RSS chief must engage actual movement participants on the ground — particularly those injured during police lathi charges — rather than “curated gatherings of Sangh-affiliated youth groups”.

The editorial concluded by demanding that “Home Minister Amit Shah address Parliament regarding alleged police excesses and misbehaviour toward female protesters”, asserting that true resolution requires stopping false charges and “curbing state force rather than offering unsolicited sermons to the nation’s youth”.

Mumbai Police launched an investigation into a suspected cyber fraud case in which a nationalised bank’s senior official allegedly lost Rs 4.27 lakh through unauthorised credit card transactions.

Investigators suspect that the fraud may have started after the victim’s personal secretary connected his mobile phone to the free public Wi-Fi network at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai.

According to police, cybercriminals may have gained access to the personal secretary’s mobile phone and later used the compromised device to spread a malicious Android application package (APK) file disguised as a Regional Transport Office (RTO) traffic challan. The fake application was reportedly sent to several people in the phone’s contact list, including senior bank officials.

The MRA Marg police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) and are investigating whether the mobile device was infected through the public Wi-Fi network, a fake hotspot imitating the genuine network, or through another method used by cybercriminals.

Police said the complainant, 56-year-old Gobinda Biswas, a resident of Bhakti Park in Wadala and general manager at a nationalised bank office in Fort, received a message on July 18 from his personal secretary Narayan Swami. The message appeared to be an official RTO challan and contained an APK file.

Before sending the message, Swami had connected his mobile phone to the free Wi-Fi service available at CSMT, police said. After the device was allegedly compromised, the malicious file was automatically forwarded through messaging applications to more than 200 contacts saved on the phone.

Believing the message to be a genuine traffic challan, Biswas downloaded and installed the application. Police suspect that the malware then gained access to sensitive information stored on his device, including data that could have been misused for financial fraud.

Investigators believe the infected application continued spreading the malicious file to additional contacts. On July 21, Biswas noticed unusual activity on his phone and deleted the application. However, police suspect that the malware had already accessed important information before removal.

Police said Biswas did not receive any SMS alerts regarding the suspicious credit card transactions. The fraud came to light on August 3 when he received his credit card statement. The complaint stated that five unauthorised transactions amounting to Rs 4,27,264 were carried out within just 28 minutes on July 21.

The bank’s credit card department later attempted to contact the customer several times. After the transactions were found suspicious and communication could not be established, the credit card was blocked, police said.

Biswas subsequently filed a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and approached MRA Marg police. An FIR was registered on August 4 in connection with the suspected cybercrime.

A Mumbai Police official said that the investigation is underway to identify the source of the malware and determine the exact method used by the accused to gain access to the mobile device.

Citizens should remain cautious while connecting to public Wi-Fi networks and should avoid installing applications received from unknown sources, Mumbai Police cautioned.

Cyber experts have repeatedly warned that attackers can use fake applications, phishing messages and unsafe public networks to steal personal and financial information. Police have advised citizens to verify links and applications before downloading them and to avoid sharing sensitive banking details through suspicious platforms.