National News
Spike In Aadhaar Payment Frauds Raises Security Concerns; Experts Link It With Demonetisation, Contractual Hiring

Approximately 29,000 incidents of Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) fraud have been reported on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, according to Minister of State for Home Affairs, Bandi Sanjay Kumar. He recently shared this information in the Rajya Sabha. investigating agencies and industry experts to uncover the reasons behind these recurring cyber frauds.
The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) [https://cybercrime.gov.in] was launched in 2020 as part of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). The platform allows the public to report all types of cyber crimes, with a special focus on crimes against women and children. Incidents reported on this portal, their conversion into FIRs, and subsequent actions are handled by the respective State/UT law enforcement agencies according to legal provisions.
Experts believe that AePS-related fraud began to surge following demonetisation. “After 2016, many banks gradually started outsourcing various tasks, including documentation, technology, and even personnel. This led to the hiring of contract employees from outsourced firms. Nowadays, when you visit a bank, you’re likely to see new faces frequently. These contract employees come and go like daily wagers, yet they have full access to the banking system. Their contract jobs come with targets, such as opening 70 bank accounts a month. To meet these goals, they may resort to unethical means, as it directly affects their paychecks. Most of those arrested in connection with cybercrime are contract employees who had access to account holder information,” explained an expert who wished to remain anonymous.
Recently, the Mumbai Police uncovered several cybercrime cases in which the accused turned out to be bank employees who were assisting cybercriminals by creating accounts for illegal transactions. While the masterminds often evade capture, the bank employees end up becoming scapegoats.
N. Shankar, General Secretary of the All India Union Bank Employees Association, commented on the issue of outsourcing. “When the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved outsourcing, it issued guidelines covering both material and non-material outsourcing, emphasizing the ‘safety factors’ that banks must prioritize for customer security. The RBI also stressed the need for regular audits of outsourcing companies. If these audits are properly conducted, many potential issues could be identified in time,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Police officials believe that the banking sector as a whole requires greater scrutiny and stricter regulations to combat the rising cyber frauds. “Banks play a crucial role in enabling cyber fraud. Just as it’s easy to open a bank account, it’s equally easy to misuse the sensitive information of ordinary citizens for serious criminal activities without their knowledge. We have arrested numerous individuals, only to later discover that they had no direct involvement in the crime. The real perpetrators operate from remote locations, far beyond our reach. Protecting citizens from falling victim to these scams is imperative, and the banks must be part of the solution,” said a senior police official.
The minister highlighted the efforts being made under the ‘Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System’ (I4C) for the immediate reporting of financial fraud and preventing fraudsters from siphoning funds. He stated that over ₹2,400 crores have been saved across more than 7.6 lakh complaints. Additionally, a toll-free helpline number, 1930, is operational to assist in lodging cyber complaints. To date, over 5.8 lakh SIM cards and 1,08,000 IMEIs have been blocked, based on police reports, by the Government of India.
Mumbai Press Exclusive News
Controversy and tension over removal of ‘I Love Muhammad’ banner in Mumbai’s Kurla VB Nagar, ‘I Love Muhammad’ banners and widespread protests in Maharashtra

Mumbai: After an FIR was registered in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, UP, after peaceful protests across the country and the world, banners of Maharashtra and Mumbai ‘I Love Muhammad’ were displayed, after which last night the Kurla VB Nagar Police along with the BMC issued an order to remove the banners of ‘I Love Muhammad’, after which Muslim youth protested against it and the youth said that they are ready to take a case in this matter but will not remove the banners. The ‘I Love Muhammad’ movement has intensified in Maharashtra and Mumbai. In this matter, Senior Inspector Popat Ahwad of Kurla VB Nagar confirmed this and said that the situation is peaceful and there was some mistrust, which has been resolved. At present, the police in Mumbai and Maharashtra have temporarily stopped the process of removing the banners, this has been confirmed by a senior police officer. Similarly, at 8:30 pm last night, an ‘I Love Muhammad’ banner was placed by unknown persons near the Bhiwandi ACP office. Mumbai And now in Maharashtra, communal elements are trying to spoil the atmosphere under the guise of the banner of I Love Muhammad. A senior police officer has emphasized the need to be alert. The I Love Muhammad movement intensified in Maharashtra and Mumbai on Friday. In such a situation, communal elements are conspiring to spoil the atmosphere on this issue. In Mumbai and Maharashtra, there was a huge protest against the registration of an FIR against Muslim youth in Kanpur for writing I Love Muhammad. In Mumbai, Muslims protested carrying placards of I Love Muhammad. The streets echoed with the name of I Love Muhammad. Mumbai Police has now started monitoring the situation after this controversy, along with this, monitoring is also going on on social media.
National News
Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway Tragedy: 16-Month-Old Toddler Dies After Ambulance Carrying Him To Hospital Gets Stuck In Traffic On Thane’s Ghodbunder Road

Palghar: A 16-month-old boy lost his life on Thursday after the ambulance carrying him to a Mumbai hospital was trapped in a prolonged traffic jam on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway in Thane district, according to people close to his family.
The child, had been staying at his grandmother’s home in Pelhar, Palghar district, when he accidentally fell from the fourth-floor balcony while playing. He sustained serious abdominal injuries in the fall.
Neighbours said that the child was initially rushed on a motorbike to a private hospital in Naigaon, where doctors managed to stabilise him briefly before advising urgent transfer to a specialised hospital in Mumbai. His family arranged for an ambulance, but the vehicle became stranded in gridlock on the highway due to repair work on the Thane-Ghodbunder Road, which had forced closure of a key stretch from 6 am to 9 pm.
Unable to move further, the ambulance diverted to a hospital in Sasoon Navghar, between Thane and Vasai, where doctors declared the toddler dead on arrival. Hospital officials later confirmed that he had passed away before admission.
The tragedy has triggered widespread anger among residents, who blamed civic and traffic authorities for poor planning and lack of emergency measures. Citizens have demanded immediate implementation of green corridors for ambulances, stricter restrictions on heavy vehicles during peak hours, and accountability for lives lost due to prolonged congestion.
Traffic snarls have paralysed commuters for several days on both the Mumbai-Ahmedabad and Mumbai-Nashik highways, with vehicles reportedly stranded for up to six hours. In another incident on Thursday, a woman recently discharged from Bhaktivedanta Hospital had to wait for more than five hours on the roadside near Fountain Hotel as her father’s car remained stuck in traffic at Vasai.
On July 30, a 49-year-old woman, Chhaya Kaushik Purav, a resident of Madhukar Nagar in the Saphala area who suffered severe injuries in a tree fall incident, died when the ambulance ferrying her got stuck in a massive traffic jam on a highway in Palghar.
The authorities are yet to issue a formal statement on the condition of the highway, leaving commuters uncertain about when relief can be expected.
National News
Delhi Court Adjourns Bail Plea Of BMW Crash Accused Gaganpreet Kaur To September 24 As Police Cite Pending Probe

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday put off till September 24 the hearing on the bail application of Gaganpreet Kaur, the main accused in the Delhi BMW fatal accident case, accepting the police plea that they were yet to seize her mobile phone and driving licence.
Judicial Magistrate Ankit Garg was told by investigators that they were not in favour of granting bail to her at this stage as the probe was still at a nascent stage.
Opposing Kaur’s plea, the police said that the mobile phone used by her to contact family members after the accident was a crucial piece of evidence.
“We have not yet recovered the mobile phone and driving licence of the accused,” said the prosecution lawyer.
The defence counsel informed the court that Kaur’s phone is with her husband and it will be handed over to the police by Saturday evening.
He claimed that Kaur’s driving licence was earlier given to investigators but if it is still not on record the family shall resubmit it to the police.
Kaur has been arrested in connection with the death of Navjot Singh, Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, and serious injuries to his wife, Sandeep Kaur, in an accident on September 14 near Dhaula Kuan.
The fatal accident occurred around 1 P.M. on September 14, near the Delhi Cantt Metro Station. The victim couple was returning from Bangla Sahib Gurdwara on a motorcycle when they were hit by a BMW car, allegedly driven by Gaganpreet Kaur. Her husband, Parikshit, was seated in the passenger seat at the time of the crash.
In a parallel development, the court issued notice to the police on a separate application filed by the accused, requesting preservation of CCTV footage from the accident site.
On Thursday, the court indicated that there was no legal provision allowing sharing of CCTV footage with the accused in a criminal case.
After the accident, the police registered a case under various penal provisions, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and rash and negligent driving. The police is also probing possible attempts to tamper with evidence.
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