A stranger walks by, opens an app, and your e-rickshaw suddenly shuts down. You must have seen or hear this in recent days a lot.
Imagine driving through a busy road when your e-rickshaw suddenly shuts down without any warning. That is exactly what is happening in a new viral trend that is worrying drivers across India.
A Chinese app called BAT-BMS is reportedly being used to stop e-rickshaws from moving. The trend, popularly known as "tirri control," has gone viral on Instagram, YouTube, and X.
In many of the videos, people walk up to an e-rickshaw, open the app, connect to its battery through Bluetooth, and switch off the battery. Within seconds, the e-rickshaw stops in the middle of the road, leaving the driver confused and helpless.
But how can a stranger control someone else's vehicle?
The answer lies in the batteries used in many low-cost e-rickshaws. These Chinese-made batteries often have Bluetooth access without any password or security. This means anyone standing nearby with the BAT-BMS app can connect to the battery and turn off its power. As soon as the battery's discharge function is switched off, the e-rickshaw stops working until it is turned back on.
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Prank Turned Public Shaming
Not every prankster walks away laughing. In one viral clip, a man caught disabling an e-rickshaw got surrounded by an angry crowd on the spot. People hurled abuses and threatened to drag him straight to the police station.
- Bystanders stepped in immediately, refusing to let the prank slide
- The public backlash shows patience for this trend is running out
- Some creators posting these videos now face comment sections full of anger, not laughs
- The internet built this prank, and now the internet is turning against it.
Why should this worry you too?
- For daily commuters: A sudden mid-road halt can trigger accidents, especially on turns or busy intersections
- For e-rickshaw drivers: Every forced stop means lost fares, and many drive on daily rent, so a dead battery means a dead income
- Social media influencer Amaan Siddiqui, who helped a stranded driver, revealed the harsh truth: "He broke down and told me that he had lost an entire day of earning."
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So who's stepping in to fix this mess?
- The Centre has ordered removal of BAT-BMS from Google and Apple app stores
- MeitY official Krishnan warned, "We will take it up to the app stores to see that possibly damaging apps do not occur"
One unsecured battery. One careless prank. One driver's entire day, gone.
Until every rickshaw gets proper security, this "harmless joke" keeps costing honest people their bread and butter.
How to Protect Yourself: A Quick Safety Box
Before your rickshaw becomes the next viral target, take these steps:
- Ask for password protection before buying or renting an e-rickshaw battery.
- Check the BMS app yourself, see if it needs a login, not just open Bluetooth access.
- Avoid parking near crowds for long periods, unsecured batteries are easy targets in busy spots.
- Report suspicious activity immediately if your vehicle stops without reason.
- Demand accountability from dealers who sell budget batteries with zero security features.
A little caution today can save an entire day's earning tomorrow.
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The Bigger Question: What Else Can Be Hacked?
If a stranger can silently switch off your vehicle from their phone through a random chinese app, what else connects to that same Bluetooth signal?
- Today it's an e-rickshaw battery, tomorrow it could be any smart device you own.
- Millions of budget EVs in India run on similar unsecured systems.
- This isn't just a prank story anymore, it's a preview of India's growing EV security gap.
One open Bluetooth connection just exposed a much bigger problem hiding in plain sight.