Overview
- Viral social videos show people using a mobile battery‑management app to remotely disable e‑rickshaw batteries, causing vehicles to stop suddenly in traffic.
- Reporting ties the tool to the BAT‑BMS ecosystem made by Shenzhen Grenergy Technology and to inexpensive BMS hardware that in some units lacks proper password or pairing protection.
- Perpetrators in places including Delhi and Ujjain are reported to have then posed as technicians and demanded small payments of about ₹200–₹500 to restart vehicles, harming drivers’ safety and incomes.
- India’s Information Technology Act (Section 66) can be used to penalize unauthorized electronic interference with penalties up to three years’ jail or fines up to ₹5 lakh.
- On Friday regulators sent notices asking Google and Apple to remove roughly seven BMS apps from their stores, and authorities and outlets are urging owners to use official apps, update firmware, set strong passwords, and disable unused remote access through service centers.