'Strengthen cybersecurity,' DoT tells Sebi, FinMin after 'attack BSE by March' calls traced to Pannun: Report

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has advised the Ministry of Finance and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to strengthen cybersecurity measures at the BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Moneycontrol reported on Thursday.

The DoT's advisory comes just days after Khalistani separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun reportedly urged the people to target the Indian economy by dumping its stocks and buying shares of American companies. Following his call, several Indians received phone calls from an international number threatening to target the BSE and the NSE.

The department conducted a probe into the calls and, based on its findings, urged the finance ministry and market regulator to prioritise the cybersecurity measures. It has also directed international long-distance operators to block incoming calls from the concerned international number, the report said.

Also read: 'Dump Indian stocks, target BSE before March': Khalistani terrorist Pannun issues another threat to India

According to the report, since January 1, several Indian citizens, including journalists, received calls from a UK-registered number (+447537129537) asking them "to dump Indian stocks and invest in US stocks before March 12 as BSE and NSE will be destroyed". The recorded message claims to be from Pannun, who heads the Sikh for Justice, which supports the secession of Punjab from India as Khalistan.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), apart from a few users, reported to DoT about such instances, the report said, adding that the department's probe into such calls involved tracing back the numbers. Through that process, the report said, the department was able to conclude that the incoming calls were indeed international.

Pannun, a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, has been making provocative calls in the last few months to revive the Khalistani movement in India. His organisation, SFJ, has been banned by the Centre under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) while he has been declared an "individual terrorist" under the stringent UAPA.

Since the killing of another Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in June, Pannun has increased his incendiary calls against India. Last month, he threatened to attack the Indian Parliament on or before December 13, which is the anniversary of Parliament attack by terrorists in 2001. He also threatened to blow up Air India flight on November 19, the day Men's World Cup final was played in Ahmedabad.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has registered a case against Pannun over his Air India threat. He has been booked under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.