The Centre’s crackdown followed videos showing e-rickshaws being remotely disabled via a Bluetooth-linked Chinese app, BAT-BMS
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ANI
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued a notice to Google Android and Apple iOS to remove 7 applications from their App Store for misuse of apps for shutting down batteries in e-rickshaws/vehicles, including the removal of Chinese apps — BAT-BMS, Lossigy, and Epoch-i-ion.
The major crackdown by the Centre came after videos surfaced showing some e-rickshaws being remotely rendered inoperable through a shutdown feature enabled by a Bluetooth connection linked to the Chinese smartphone application BAT-BMS.
Punishable act
According to cybersecurity experts, such acts are an offence under the IT Act 2000 and are punishable by law.
“Today an e-rickshaw is not just an e-rickshaw; it’s a computer system, and therefore, if it operates digitally, it has some memory functions. I am very clear this is not a game; it is an offence under section 66 read with section 43 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 because this is an activity carried out dishonestly or fraudulently,” Pawan Duggal, Chairman of the International Commission on Cyber Security Law, said.
He said people access the computer system of an e-rickshaw without the owner’s consent or knowledge, an offence punishable with up to three years of imprisonment and a fine of up to ₹5 lakh.
“An e-rickshaw, in the eyes of the law is still constitutes a computer system and computer resource, and if you are going to gain unauthorised entry into the computer system, you are not just going ahead and violating the criminal law of the country; you are liable to be criminally prosecuted under the IT Act 2000 and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). In addition, you can also potentially be facing liability to pay several damages by way of compensation,” Duggal added.
Meanwhile, government sources warned that any other such app found being misused will also be blocked in the country.
Cyber Awareness
According to Faisal Kawoosa, technology analyst and Founder of Techarc, this is an interim intervention by the government, and it needs to work on awareness and education regarding Battery Operated Transport among drivers and owners so that they understand the fundamental technologies involved and possible vulnerabilities.
“There is also a need to go for standardisation, which can look into such aspects comprehensively. Further, steps like forced password change and fingerprint-based authentication can be explored to make it more robust. The apps may be out of the stores, but they could still be made available through parallel stores, keeping the potential alive,” Kawoosa told businessline.
While MeitY clarified that it does not target Chinese apps solely, it takes such actions due to their involvement in activities concerning national security, defence, and data privacy.
More than 500 Chinese apps, including TikTok, WeChat, PUBG, and Shein, have been blocked since 2020, when border clashes began between India and China in the Galwan Valley.
In recent parliamentary sessions, Members of Parliament also raised alarms that previously banned apps are trying to return under new names or with slight modifications, which pose a fresh threat to national security. Therefore, MeitY monitors these threats and issues fresh blocking directions as needed.
Published on July 3, 2026
