New US visa rule, Amazon announces dates for its biggest sale of the year, Microsoft kills Blue Screen of Death error and other top tech news of the week
This week, the US Embassy in India announced new visa rules for student and exchange visitors. The latest guidelines mandate that F, M, and J non-immigrant visa applicants set their social media privacy settings to public, effective immediately, to verify identity and eligibility. Meanwhile,
Amazon
announced dates for its biggest sale of the year in India. Amazon India's Prime Day 2025 is set for July 12-14, expanding to three days with offers from top brands and bank discounts. On the other hand, Microsoft officially phased out its iconic "Blue Screen of Death" error on Windows. It has been replaced by a new black error screen as part of a "
Windows Resiliency Initiative
" to enhance user experience and reduce disruptions. All this and more in TOI's weekly tech wrap:
'Effective immediately, …': US embassy in India wants everyone applying for F, M, or J non-immigrant US visas to change this privacy setting of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media accounts
The US Embassy in India has announced a new guideline for those applying for student and exchange visitor visas. The new rules, effective immediately, apply to all applicants of F, M, and J non-immigrant visas who will now have to set their social media accounts to public. The move, the embassy said, is aimed at helping U.S. officials verify the identity and eligibility of visa applicants during the security screening process. The US embassy shared this update in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), saying that the change is necessary to "facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States under US law."
'Effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M, or J nonimmigrant visa are requested to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media accounts to public to facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States under U.S. law,' the post says.
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Nvidia beats Microsoft and Apple to become world's most valuable company: What's behind the rise
Nvidia has become the world's most valuable company, overtaking Microsoft, as demand for its AI chips continues to soar. Nvidia's market value rose to $3.34 trillion this week, making it worth more than Microsoft at $3.32 trillion and Apple at $3.29 trillion. Fueled by growing interest in artificial intelligence technologies, the chipmaker's stock has gained over 170% this year and more than tripled in value over the past 12 months.
Nvidia's rise has been driven by its dominant position in providing chips used in AI systems, including those that power tools like ChatGPT. Its graphics processing units (GPUs) are a key component for training and running large language models.
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Google cuts $50 million from smart TV team budget, and 75 jobs with it
Google has cut its Google TV and Android TV budget by 10%, reducing funding by tens of millions of dollars for the company's smart television initiatives, according to an exclusive report by The Information. The cuts have affected up to a quarter of the 300-member smart TV team, with layoffs accompanying the budget reduction.
The budget slash comes as Google prepares to integrate its Gemini AI assistant into TV platforms later this year, positioning televisions as central hubs for smart home interaction. Despite the financial constraints, Google maintains its commitment to the platform, citing over 270 million active Android TV devices globally.
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Microsoft kills the Blue Screen of Death error that shut down 8 million Windows devices last year, here's what replaces it
After four decades, Microsoft is officially bidding farewell to the iconic "Blue Screen of Death" (BSoD). Microsoft is now replacing the famous Blue error screen with a redesigned and black interface. The company revealed that the change is part of a broader 'Windows Resiliency Initiative' which is aimed at making the operating system more robust.
The company announced the change in a Windows blog post. The company said that with this change, it aims to modernise and improve the user experience. The company also wishes to reduce the disruption caused by system crashes. The new screen for Windows comes with a simplified message which does not consist of the sad-face emoji and QR code, as it aligns with Windows 11's design language.
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Amazon India Prime Day 2025 sale dates announced: Offers discounts, and more about the first-ever 3-day celebration in country
Amazon India Prime Day 2025 sale dates announced: Offers, discounts, and more about first ever 3-day celebration in the country, marking a significant expansion for Prime Day in India, offering members an additional 24 hours to explore exciting offers from top brands such as Samsung, Intel, OnePlus, iQOO, HP, Asus, Boat and Lenovo.
Amazon Prime Day 2025 will be from 12:00 am on July 12 to 11:59 pm on July 14. Prime members will be able to access deals, have savings and witness new product launches. Shoppers can maximise their savings with 10% discounts on payments made using ICICI Bank Credit & Debit cards, SBI Credit Cards, and EMI transactions on both ICICI Bank and SBI Credit Cards.
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Disney lays off more employees, as it rebalances teams in ...
The Walt Disney Company has started another round of layoffs. As part of the fresh round of layoffs, the company is firing hundreds of employees globally. The company announced that the layoffs are part of the ongoing strategic restructuring, which is aimed at streamlining operations and pivoting towards high-growth areas, particularly streaming. The latest wave of job cuts has affected various departments, including film and television marketing, TV publicity, casting, development and corporate finance functions.
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Intel layoffs begin: Company cuts roles across these teams to 'remove organisational complexity and …'
Intel has started laying off employees, beginning with 107 workers tied to its headquarters in Santa Clara, California, reports CRN. The move is part of a larger cost-cutting and restructuring plan announced by CEO Lip-Bu Tan in April this year to turn around the struggling semiconductor company. According to the report, the company has filed a notice under California's Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. In the notice, Intel said that the layoffs will begin on July 15. Employees will either be given a 60-day notice or a four-week notice with nine weeks' pay and benefits.
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Samsung Galaxy M36 with 50MP main camera, 5000 mAh battery launched: Price, specs and more
Samsung Galaxy M36 5G is now official. Samsung has launched its latest M-series smartphone in India — Galaxy M36 5G. The smartphone houses a 50MP triple rear camera and is backed by a 5000 mAh battery. The affordable Samsung smartphone features a full HD+ display and packs an Exynos chipset.
'As part of our commitment to bring meaningful innovations that empower customers' lives, we are launching the Galaxy M36 5G with segment-leading features and bringing AI innovations at an affordable price point. The stylish & durable Galaxy M36 5G complements our consumers' lifestyle, and with the introduction of Circle to Search with Google and Gemini Live, we are furthering the democratisation of mobile AI across the Galaxy ecosystem,' said the company.
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Vivo T4 Lite 5G smartphone with 50MP camera, 6000 mAh battery launched in India: Price, specs and more
Vivo T4 Lite 5G is here. Vivo has launched its most affordable 5G smartphone — Vivo T4 Lite 5G in India. The smartphone houses a 6000 mAh battery, which comes with a 5-year battery health. The smartphone is powered by a MediaTek chipset and a 50MP main camera. 'With the T4 Lite 5G, we are giving India's young consumers a phone that works as hard as they do. It is smart, reliable, and packed with meaningful innovation – from battery life to camera performance to design – all at a price that makes it accessible,' said the company.
Vivo T4 Lite 5G comes in three variants — 4GB+128GB, 6GB+128GB and 8GB+256GB priced at Rs 9,999, Rs 10,999 and Rs 12,999, respectively. The smartphone comes in Prism Blue and Titanium Gold colour options. The smartphone will go on sale on July 2 on Flipkart and Vivo India online store, and offline on authorised stores in the country. As part of the launch offer, the company is giving an instant discount of Rs 500 on HDFC Bank, SBI and Axis Bank cards.
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Oppo K13x with 6000 mAh battery, military grade certification launched in India: Price, specs and more
Oppo K13x 5G is here. Oppo has expanded its affordable smartphone lineup with the launch of Oppo K13x 5G in India. The smartphone comes with military grade certification and is backed by a 6000 mAh battery. Oppo K13x packs a MediaTek chipset and runs the Android 15 operating system. 'The K13x features a cutting-edge biomimetic shock absorption system, class-leading battery optimisation, and 5G readiness; the smartphone reflects OPPO's vision—redefining what is possible in an entry-level smartphone without compromise,' said the company.
Oppo K13x comes the three variants — 4GB+128GB, 6GB+128GB and 8GB+256GB priced at Rs 11,999, Rs 12,999 and Rs 14,999 respectively. The smartphone will go on sale starting June 27 and will be available online on Flipkart and the Oppo India online store. Customers can purchase the smartphone in Midnight Violet and Sunset Peach colour options.
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HP launches Latex 730 and 830 printers in India, opens demo center in Mumbai
HP has launched its latest large-format printing solutions, the HP Latex 730 and 830 printer series, in India. The company claims that the new printers are designed to boost productivity, streamline operations, and consistently deliver high-quality, high-value output. Along with this, HP India has also collaborated with
Redington
and has opened a dedicated Demo Centre in Mumbai to offer customers and partners a hands-on experience with its latest Latex printing technologies and products.
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Sony Alpha 1 II full-frame mirrorless camera debuts in India, priced at Rs 5,79,990
Sony India has expanded its camera range in the country with the launch of the second-generation Alpha 1 II. Sony Alpha 1 II is a full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that comes equipped with an approximately 50.1 MP resolution sensor. The camera offers up to 30 fps (frames-per-second) blackout-free continuous shooting with AF/AE tracking, an anti-distortion shutter and improved image clarity at mid-to-high sensitivities. In addition, the Alpha 1 II has a lightweight form factor, weighing nearly 743 grams.
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Asus TUF Gaming F16 and the ROG Strix G16 launch in India: Price, features and more
Asus has expanded its gaming laptop lineup in India with the launch of the new TUF Gaming F16 and the ROG Strix G16 (G615), both powered by the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 GPU. Alongside these, Asus has upgraded its existing ROG Strix G16 (G614) with the same GPU. The laptops cater to a wide range of users, including mainstream gamers and content creators, offering features like Intel Core i7 and i5 processors, up to 16GB RAM, high-refresh-rate displays, AI-ready hardware, and long battery life.
Prices of the new Asus gaming laptops start at Rs 1,24,990. The laptops are now available through Asus e-shop, Flipkart, Amazon, ROG Stores, Asus Exclusive Stores, and major electronics retailers like
Croma
,
Reliance Digital
, and Vijay Sales.
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Amazon India expands Pharmacy service, launches at-home Diagnostics: Cities lab tests service is available in and more
Amazon India has unveiled Amazon Diagnostics, a new at-home healthcare service enabling customers to book lab tests, schedule appointments, and access digital reports seamlessly through the Amazon app. The service is offered in partnership with Orange Health Labs and is available across over 450 PIN codes in Bengaluru, Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. Amazon Diagnostics integrates with the company's existing Amazon Medical portfolio, which includes Amazon Pharmacy and Amazon Clinic.
'Amazon Diagnostics builds on the foundation of Amazon Medical, offering customers access to essential diagnostic services with the same ease and reliability they expect from Amazon,' an Amazon India spokesperson said in a statement. By combining diagnostics with pharmacy and clinic services, we aim to simplify healthcare delivery for millions.'
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Sudhanshu Shukla becomes first Indian to travel to ISS in 40 years: Read his note on Instagram before takeoff
Sudhanshu Shukla, Group Captain in the Indian Air Force, has made history by flying aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as part of the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch took place at 12:01 pm today, June 25, after multiple delays.
Shukla
is the first Indian to travel to the ISS in nearly four decades, following in the footsteps of Rakesh Sharma, who spent eight days in space in 1984 as part of a Soviet mission. A day before the mission, Shukla shared a post on Meta-owned Instagram where he expressed gratitude to those who supported him on his journey. Reflecting on the Axiom 4 mission, Shukla thanked the mission team, his loved ones back home, and especially his family and friends, acknowledging the unseen sacrifices they made along the way.
In a special mention, he credited his partner Kamna Shubha for being his constant support. He wrote, 'Without you, none of this was possible, but more importantly, none of this would matter.' Shukla ended his note by saying, 'No one travels to space alone,' a tribute to the collective effort behind his launch.
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Vi launches Max Family postpaid plan with free Netflix subscription, priced at Rs 871
Vi has announced a new postpaid plan —
Vi Max Family Plan
— offering bundled access to OTT platforms along with internet data. The plan is priced at Rs 871 and includes two connections: one primary and one secondary. As part of this plan, Vi will offer a
Netflix
Basic subscription as a fixed monthly benefit. Customers can stream content on one device, either a mobile device or a TV. Vi says users will also have access to content from 18 additional OTT platforms through the Vi Movies & TV platform. This includes shows, movies, and live events such as WWE.
Vi Max Family plan offers 120GB of shared data — 70GB for the primary user, 40GB for the secondary, and 10GB shared — along with unlimited night data between 12 am and 6 am. Vi says users can roll over up to 400GB of unused data, with 200GB per member. The plan has a validity of 28 days.
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Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
Biz stunted due to illegal HT seeds; Nagpur, Wardha dealers call for strike today
Nagpur: Seed dealers in Nagpur and Wardha — both predominantly cotton-growing belts — have called for a strike on Monday alleging that illegal herbicide-tolerant (HT) seeds have eaten away half of their business. HT seeds are genetically engineered to be resistant to glyphosate, a cheap weed killer whose commercial sale awaits a green signal from the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The seed buying season is over, and the dealers are left with nearly 50% to 40% of unsold stock. They will now have to run after the seed companies to refund the booking amount. The companies may refund the amount if they relent or adjust it for the coming season, said the traders TOI spoke to. A packet of the authorised BG II seed, which is only effective against the bollworm pest, has MRP of Rs901 a packet. In contrast, farmers paid nearly Rs2,000 for a packet of HT seeds, said the dealers. As per the traders, the HT seeds are illegally grown in the hinterlands of Gujarat and smuggled to Vidarbha. Vijay Chandak, president of Nagpur Agro Dealers Association, said the illegal seeds have completely overshadowed the market. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Bring home all new SP160 & get an instant cashback up to ₹5000# Honda Learn More Undo "HT seeds have been the first choice of farmers this time. A massive proliferation of the seeds grown in clandestine farms can also lead to a crisis for the region's farmers. Sold in the grey market, there is no guarantee of the seeds' performance. There are chances that the weed killer may even destroy the cotton seed, and farmers would not be able to claim any compensation from the govt," said Chandak. Ravi Shende, his counterpart in Wardha, also spoke of a similar situation in the district. "The seeds come from Gujarat, where an entire illegal industry seems to operate. The govt must act against it," he said. Farm activist Vijay Jawandhia alleged that a number of operators are simply plucking off the seeds from the HT cotton and packing it to Vidarbha. "Even if grown illegally, the method is to develop a seed through hybridisation. The seeds taken out of the cotton crop can lack the required vigour. Yet, farmers are paying as much as Rs2,000 for a packet of such seeds," he said. Box Shortage of workers to clear weeds The high demand for HT seeds also indicates a labour shortage in the hinterland. It enables the free use of glyphosate-based weed killers on cotton plants, instead of deploying labour to manually clear the weeds. There is also a strong lobby for legalising HT seeds. In 2019, Shetkari Sangathana openly sowed the seeds, challenging the govt to take action. The seeds were developed by Mahyco-Monsanto, which withdrew from the trials, due to which it remains illegal to use. Glyphosate, however, is at present only allowed in non-cropped areas and tea gardens.
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
‘Govt's failure to move beyond MoUs has left industrial engine sputtering'
Tamil Nadu has long been heralded as the industrial heartbeat of South India. From automobiles and electronics to textiles and petrochemicals, our state has stood as a symbol of innovation, enterprise, and economic resilience. Such a legacy demands vision, discipline, and above all, execution. As a man who steered Tamil Nadu's economic growth earlier, I am disturbed by this dangerous erosion in our industrial momentum under the current govt. Earlier this year, Chief Minister M K Stalin proclaimed that his govt facilitated industrial investments worth ₹6.64 lakh crore. A staggering figure at first glance. But scratch the surface, and the truth is far less flattering. As per the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and the Reserve Bank of India (Q4 2023-2024), the actual realised investment is more than a quarter of that amount. The remainder exists only in the form of MoUs and announcements. In the past four years, several flagship projects that could have reshaped our economic geography remain in planning purgatory. You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai The Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC), for instance, was conceived as part of the East Coast Economic Corridor. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like These Are The Most Beautiful Women In The World Undo The ambitious 590 km stretch was meant to revitalise 23 districts through better port connectivity and industrial expansion. Despite a ₹3,500 crore loan from the Asian Development Bank, the project has seen sluggish progress. Tenders such as EPC-15 and EPC-07, floated in 2020 and 2021, witnessed delays in finalisation. As of today, less than 10% of the proposed road length has seen tangible work. This corridor could have brought prosperity to our southernmost districts, but sadly, it remains largely on paper. The Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC) was envisioned to bridge Tamil Nadu's northern districts with India's tech capital, Bengaluru. A special purpose vehicle was created, and a master plan for the Ponneri node was drafted. Although master planning has concluded, core infrastructure remains incomplete and major investments are yet to be grounded. Billed as Tamil Nadu's answer to Gujarat's Dholera and Maharashtra's Aurangabad corridors, the Coimbatore-Salem-Chennai High-Tech Corridor was supposed to be our gateway to next-generation manufacturing. Today, industrial parks such as Sipcot Krishnagiri remain underutilised. With five strategic nodes — Chennai, Hosur, Coimbatore, Salem, and Tiruchirappalli — the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor was launched to position the state as a defence manufacturing hub. MoUs worth ₹11,794 crore were signed, but only ₹3,861 crore (33%) has been actualised. The fallout of such inertia is not just economic, it is human. In terms of employment, based on standard projections, Tamil Nadu could have generated more than 400,000 direct jobs had these corridors progressed as intended. Tamil Nadu is increasingly losing out to more agile states that offer clearer approvals, proactive governance, and visible outcomes. Our state's Human Development Index tells its own story. While Chennai stands at 0.841, districts such as Nagapattinam lag at 0.699. Industrial corridors, if executed properly, would have reduced this disparity. Instead, the gap is widening. Tamil Nadu's Gross State Domestic Product for the financial year 2024-25 is ₹17.23 lakh crore, with manufacturing contributing approximately 35%. Yet the foundation of that industry, sectors like logistics, warehousing, and transport, are underperforming. The Coimbatore Multi-Modal Logistics Park has faced slippage in timelines. The warehousing policy promised in 2023 is still awaiting approval. In its tenure, the AIADMK hosted two successful Global Investors Meets in 2015 and 2019, collectively drawing more than ₹3 lakh crore in investment. The govt facilitated land acquisition, sped up clearances, and ensured that MoUs translated into operational businesses. It is not too late to change course. But it requires political will and administrative discipline. The AIADMK proposes a three-pronged approach to industrial renewal. The first is time-bound corridor execution. Every corridor must be governed by a Chief Minister-chaired task force with quarterly targets. For CKIC, tenders must be finalised and project design groundwork started post mid-2026, with a deliverable milestone of 100 km of road by mid-2027. For the CBIC, fast-track plans to operationalise the Ponneri node, aiming for readiness by the first quarter of 2027. Tamil Nadu must also move beyond the Chennai-centric model. By 2027, the AIADMK proposes to develop 25 district-level MSME clusters with pre-zoned, plug-and-play infrastructure. Focus areas include technology and electronics in Madurai and Sivaganga; defence manufacturing in Salem and Hosur; and agro-processing and food tech in the Cauvery Delta and southern districts. To improve transparency, a digitised, single-window clearance system with real-time tracking is proposed along with a dynamic land bank registry to help industries locate viable plots and a RERA-style industrial oversight authority to audit project progress and ensure accountability. Industrial development is not a vanity project. It is an unending commitment to economic equity, youth employment, and regional prosperity. The DMK govt's failure to move beyond MoUs has left our industrial engine sputtering. Our entrepreneurs wait. Our youth emigrate. Our investors look elsewhere. The AIADMK is committed to changing this. We believe Tamil Nadu can — and must — lead India's next phase of industrial growth. It is time to move from paper corridors to real factories, from rhetoric to results. (The writer is Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu) Email your feedback to
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Crooks impersonating Mumbai cops & ED officials force 75-yr-old in Kolhapur to transfer Rs7.9 crore
Kolhapur: Cybercriminals posing as Mumbai police and Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials forced a 75-year-old Kolhapur resident to transfer Rs7.86 crore in phases, between May 26 and June 23, on the pretext of an "inquiry into a case of funding a banned terror outfit and money laundering". This was one of the biggest cyber frauds to have been reported from western Maharashtra. The victim, who had settled in Kolhapur after retiring in 2012 as an assistant vice-president from a refinery in Jamnagar, exhausted all his earnings from investment in shares and fixed deposit (FD) held jointly with his wife to make 14 money transfers to accounts with banks in Mumbai, Nashik, Akola, Chandigarh, Prayagraj, Manoharpur and in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. The man's three sons are settled in the US. He had rejoined the refinery in 2017 for two years before finally starting a retired life, police said. According to the FIR, at one point, the victim even told one of the crooks, who identified himself as an ED official, that he had no connection whatsoever with the money laundering and that the call appeared to him as a cyber fraud. The caller then disconnected the call. Later, the victim received another call from a man, who identified himself as a serving senior officer from Mumbai police and asked him to cooperate with the ED official. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Вот что поза во сне говорит о вашем характере! Удивительные Новости Undo After securing all his investment and bank balance details in the name of inquiry and verification, the crooks even used bogus "Supreme Court order, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)" letters to convince the victim to sell off his shares and deposit the generated money and his joint FD money to the accounts shared by them. They promised the victim that the money would be returned to him, post-verification. The Juna Rajwada police in Kolhapur registered a case in this connection following a preliminary verification of the victim's complaint application. "We have deployed teams to four places across the country to collect information as part of our ongoing investigation and to verify the accounts where money was transferred. The victim had just Rs1.5 lakh in his bank accounts, and the rest in shares," inspector Sanjivkumar Zade of the Juna Rajwada police told TOI. According to the FIR, it all started around 10.30am on May 24 when the victim got a call on his cellphone while he was at his home in Kolhapur. The caller identified himself as a representative of "Data Protection Board of India" and told the victim that he was looking into a data leak case. The caller asked the victim to confirm the last four digits of his Aadhaar card number. Later, he told the victim that his Aadhaar credentials were misused to purchase a cellphone and cheat some 20 people in Mumbai with unauthorised advertisements and other purposes. The caller claimed that a criminal case was registered against the victim at the Colaba police station in Mumbai. The caller then sent a photo of an "information report" about the cheating case on the WhatsApp number of his wife as the victim's WhatsApp number was not operating. Along with this report, the caller sent another photo of a group of people purportedly belonging to a banned terror outfit and asked the victim if he knew any of them. The caller went on to tell the victim that the police had spotted a money transfer from his account to the terror outfit. When the victim said he had no connection whatsoever with this matter, the caller connected him to another man who claimed to be a senior inspector with the Colaba police. The victim stated in his complaint that the Colaba officer asked him to visit the police station to record his statement but when he replied that he is a senior citizen and was not in a position to travel to Colaba, the "officer" said he can video record his statement before an ED officer. The "officer" then connected the victim to the "ED officer" on video call. The latter then got the victim to make the money transfers in phases till the latter realised the con, the police said.
