Centre orders removal of apps linked to remote e-rickshaw shutdowns in Delhi

Chinese App Prank: E-Rickshaw Drivers in Bhopal, Ujjain Complain of ‘Battery Hacking’; Centre Orders Removal of BAT-BMS App from Play Store, App Store -- VIDEO

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A bizarre case of hacking, the Chinese App Prank, has come to light, which has significantly affected e-rickshaw drivers and their daily earnings across the country and in Madhya Pradesh.Notably, e-rickshaw drivers in Bhopal and Indore have complained that their vehicles are being remotely switched off by tampering with the Battery Management System (BMS) through a mobile application.Drivers from different areas said their e-rickshaws suddenly stopped in the middle of the road, leaving both passengers and drivers stranded.A viral social media trend in India has raised serious safety concerns after videos showed teenagers and young adults using a smartphone app to remotely disable e-rickshaws, often while they are moving or stopped in the middle of busy roads. Several clips show stunned drivers… pic.twitter.com/QFgrhTf5hX— The Siasat Daily (@TheSiasatDaily) July 2, 2026 The issue is not only affecting their daily earnings but also causing inconvenience to commuters, who are forced to get down midway.BhopalNarrating his ordeal, an e-rickshaw driver in Bhopal said his vehicle stopped on Wednesday around 1:30 pm on VIP Road while carrying small children as passengers. He said the e-rickshaw did not restart and he had to push it manually. Later, he claimed he was charged ₹200 to unlock the system.UjjainRegarding the matter, Neel Ganga police station in-charge Tarun Kuril says, "Yesterday, we received information that an auto-rickshaw driver's vehicle had stalled at Loti Tiraha, and a young man charged him Rs 200 under the pretext of fixing it. Upon inquiry, the driver revealed that e-rickshaws in the city are currently being shut down remotely - specifically, their batteries are being disabled via a mobile app."#WATCH | Ujjain, MP | Neel Ganga police station in-charge Tarun Kuril says, "Yesterday, we received information that an auto-rickshaw driver's vehicle had stalled at Loti Tiraha, and a young man charged him Rs 200 under the pretext of fixing it. Upon inquiry, the driver revealed… pic.twitter.com/S2zPnjYw8h— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) July 2, 2026 He added, "The app used for this activity is a pirated one, and we are informing everyone about it. We have also ensured that dealers have all e-rickshaw drivers download a specific authorized app so that, should their vehicle be hacked and shut down, they can restart it themselves."Several drivers reported similar incidents, saying many e-rickshaws are currently lined up at mechanic shops due to the problem.According to them, some individuals who understand how the app-based system works are able to switch vehicles on and off, while other drivers are left struggling.Centre Orders Removal Of Chinese Apps Used To Hack E-Rickshaws In DelhiNetizens condemn prankstersNumerous videos showing people stopping nearby e-rickshaws and drivers manually pushing the vehicles are going viral on social media.A smartphone app remotely shutting down e-rickshaws isn’t just a prank - it’s a serious public safety risk.The issue isn’t the app, it’s a basic flaw in how some electric three-wheelers are built.Some Bluetooth-enabled battery systems lack password protection or… pic.twitter.com/GPalgOA4RW— Manas Muduli (@manas_muduli) July 3, 2026 Witnessing e-rickshaw drivers’ plight, netizens have strongly condemned those executing the prank and have demanded action against them.Please don't sacrifice someone's livelihood for reels and views.An e-rickshaw driver spends the entire day working in the heat and traffic just to earn enough to feed their family. If an app is being misused to stop their vehicle in the middle of the road, it's not a prank—it's… pic.twitter.com/DAq7ujaNPG— JanHit Voice (@HJP2029_2036) July 2, 2026 A poor e-rickshaw driver was forced to push his vehicle nearly 3 km.After someone remotely disabled his rickshaw using a Chinese app BAT-BMS.Leaving him exhausted, helpless, and he earn nothing the whole day.Nowadays, Many Chapri social media creators doing such pranks to… https://t.co/2LUelS4P6i pic.twitter.com/YBpaXXp8PE— Dilip Rana (@LalchandSiddh01) July 2, 2026 Someone remotely switched off this e-rickshaw driver's vehicle using an app on their phone.Now the e-rickshaw driver is frustrated and abusing people.Maybe now these e-rickshaw drivers will understand how it feels when your vehicle suddenly stops on the road. For years, many… pic.twitter.com/blrRGQEg0M— Saffron Chargers (@SaffronChargers) July 3, 2026 What is the BAT BMS app?The BAT BMS app, available on the Google Play Store, is reportedly used for managing battery systems. It is said that when Bluetooth is turned on, the app can detect nearby e-rickshaw BMS units. If the system is not password-protected, some control options may become accessible.Police are now investigating whether certain e-rickshaw models have security flaws in their battery systems and how such technical misuse may have been carried out.BAT BMS App removed from Play Store, App StoreTaking immediate action on the matter, centre directed the removal of three battery management apps - BAT-BMS, Lossigy, and Epoch Li-ion - from both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store after reports that they were being misused to remotely disable moving e-rickshaws in Delhi.#WATCH | Delhi | On removal of two apps which were being allegedly used to prank e-rickshaws from app stores, S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeiTY, says, "There are a couple of apps which came to our notice yesterday, and both the apps have been taken down from the app stores. App… pic.twitter.com/Es9PikIHjF— ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2026 S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, confirmed that the apps were taken down after they came to the government’s notice, speaking at the CII Cybersecurity Summit.BAT-BMS App: How A Chinese App Is Being Used To Hack E-Rickshaws All Over India; Viral Videos Show Drivers Crying Over Lost Earnings

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Centre Orders Removal Of Chinese Apps Used To Hack E-Rickshaws In Delhi

he Centre has ordered the removal of two mobile applications, BAT-BMS, Lossigy, and Epoch Li-ion, from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. The move comes after reports surfaced of the apps being misused to remotely disable moving e-rickshaws in Delhi. These applications are battery management tools that connect to lithium-ion batteries via Bluetooth. They were originally built to help monitor battery parameters such as voltage, temperature, and charge cycles.S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, confirmed the action while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the CII Cybersecurity Summit. "There are a couple of apps which came up to our notice yesterday and both of them have been taken down from the app stores," Krishnan said.#WATCH | Delhi | On removal of two apps which were being allegedly used to prank e-rickshaws from app stores, S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeiTY, says, "There are a couple of apps which came to our notice yesterday, and both the apps have been taken down from the app stores. App… pic.twitter.com/Es9PikIHjF— ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2026 When asked how the government plans to stop such apps given that they are being accessed from a particular country, Krishnan pointed to the responsibility of app store platforms. "That is the point, that this is due care that the app stores have to exercise, and we will take it up to the app stores to see that possibly damaging apps do not occur," he said.How the e-rickshaw prank worksThe trend involves opening the mobile app, connecting to the nearest e-rickshaw battery over Bluetooth, and switching off the discharge function. A single tap is enough to power down the vehicle. The driver is left stranded and confused in the middle of the road, and the e-rickshaw can only be restarted once someone switches the battery back on through the same application.Many low-cost e-rickshaw batteries in India lack password protection or authentication, which makes this misuse possible. Anyone within Bluetooth range, roughly 10 to 15 metres, can connect to an unsecured battery management system without the owner's knowledge and disable the vehicle. Officials have noted that this vulnerability does not affect all e-rickshaws, since some run on older lead-acid batteries with no Bluetooth capability, while certain lithium battery packs use proprietary systems that block third-party apps entirely.Drivers left stranded and had financial lossesFor e-rickshaw drivers, many of whom rent their vehicles daily, the so-called prank translates into real financial loss. A viral video on social media showed a driver struggling after his e-rickshaw was disabled mid route. Social media influencer Amaan Siddiqui described the incident to the news agency ANI after he intervened to help."I saw a man tying up his rickshaw to another in order to move it," Siddiqui said. "I suspected this app to be behind it. I brought my vehicle behind it and tried connecting my app to the rickshaw. Once it connected, I asked him to stop and told him that his rickshaw would now restart."According to Siddiqui, the driver had lost between Rs. 400 and Rs. 500 for the day. "He broke down and told me that he had lost an entire day of earning. He had taken the rickshaw on rent. His rickshaw had been at the same spot for an entire day," Siddiqui said.Drivers who lack smartphones or the technical know-how to operate such apps are particularly vulnerable, and some have reportedly paid strangers or mechanics to get their vehicles working again, unaware that the vehicle was never actually faulty.What the Delhi government saidA senior Delhi government official said the underlying issue lies in the design of these battery management apps. The apps are meant to help monitor real time parameters such as voltage, temperature, and current, but their control functions can be misused when the connected battery systems lack basic security."There is no password or authentication. As a result, cutting the power output and bringing the vehicle to a sudden halt becomes easy," the official said.MeitY secretary on VPN misuseKrishnan was also asked about the broader issue of VPN misuse during the same interaction. He acknowledged that the government's approach to the problem is still evolving. "We have to see, the process has just begun," he said, describing it as a techno legal aspect that cannot be solved through regulation alone. "We have to look at both a technology solution in addition to just a legal solution," he added.Krishnan pointed out that a legal framework already exists on paper, since certain guidelines currently require VPN providers to register. However, he flagged a gap in compliance. "There is a requirement even under certain guidelines currently for VPNs to register. What happens is many of them choose not to register. They offer it from elsewhere, and it is offered at the software level," he said. Because of this, Krishnan noted that the ministry has to look beyond legal mandates and work towards technology based solutions to address the issue.What happens nextWith the two apps now removed from both major app stores, the Centre's immediate focus appears to be on preventing further misuse through official distribution channels. Krishnan's comments suggest MeitY intends to engage directly with app store operators like Google and Apple to strengthen screening processes and stop similarly exploitable apps from being listed in the first place. On the VPN front, his remarks indicate that the ministry is weighing technical interventions alongside existing registration requirements, since offshore VPN providers offering services without registering in India have proven difficult to rein in through legal mandates alone. Whether the government will also examine mandatory security standards, such as compulsory password protection for Bluetooth-enabled battery systems sold in the country, remains to be seen.

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