Videos of people using a Chinese app to remotely cut power to e-rickshaws mid-ride have gone viral in India, sparking concerns about a security gap in budget electric vehicles that leaves drivers stranded in traffic with no way to restart their vehicles.
The app is called BAT-BMS, developed by Shenzhen Grenergy Technology, a Chinese company.
It includes a function called the discharge switch, which is normally used by mechanics to safely cut off power before making repairs. But this function is now being exploited to stall e-rickshaws mid-journey. Some of the individuals responsible claim in their posts they are taking “revenge” on e-rickshaw drivers for violating traffic rules.
Social media videos show drivers dragging their vehicles mid-traffic after they stop working, with many losing wages.
The dangerous trend is titled "tirri control". Tirri is a colloquial term for e-rickshaws in certain places in India.
The videos have spread across Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, and X in recent days.
Many of them uploaded by the pranksters themselves show people approaching e-rickshaws on busy streets, opening the app, connecting to the vehicle's battery via Bluetooth, and flipping the discharge switch, cutting power to the motor and bringing the vehicle to a sudden halt.
One widely shared post is captioned: "Time for revenge.”
Shame on this generation…!
A Chinese app BAT-BMS misused for allegedly remotely stopping e-rickshaws.
Behind every remotely stopped e-rickshaws is a hardworking driver left helpless in the middle of the road .💔 pic.twitter.com/mbuokUBkEV
Many commenters have pointed out that cutting power to a moving vehicle in traffic poses a genuine safety risk to drivers, passengers and other road users.
The app works by connecting via Bluetooth to the battery management system inside an e-rickshaw's lithium battery pack. Many budget e-rickshaws in India use Chinese-made battery management units that are left entirely unsecured, with no password or authentication configured, meaning anyone within 10 to 15m can connect to them as easily as they can to an unlocked wifi network.
A poor e rickshaw driver was forced to push his vehicle nearly 3 km after someone remotely disabled it using a Chinese app, leaving him exhausted, helpless, and without a day’s earnings.
— Tehxi (@yajnshri) July 1, 2026
Nowadays, Many Chapri social media creators doing such pranks to harass poor drivers. pic.twitter.com/v3S7JDdt6E
In the videos, some stranded drivers are shown paying passersby Rs 100-200 rupees (95p to £1.90) to restart their vehicles after being targeted. Not all drivers own smartphones or possess the technical knowledge to reconfigure Bluetooth settings and many BMS units are configured entirely in Chinese.
However, the videos overstate how widespread the vulnerability is.
The exploit only works on rickshaws with Bluetooth-enabled lithium battery packs using a compatible and unsecured battery management system.
E-rickshaws that run on lead-acid batteries, which are still common across India, are unaffected, as are vehicles fitted with lithium batteries using proprietary software or a password-protected system. Several people who attempted to replicate the pranks reported it was considerably harder than the short clips suggested, requiring the user to be close, stationary and fortunate enough to find an unsecured, compatible battery nearby.
BAT-BMS is a battery management tool designed to let users wirelessly monitor Bluetooth-enabled lithium batteries, displaying information including charge level, voltage, current, temperature, and individual cell health. The app helps users avoid overcharging, deep discharging, and overheating Lithium batteries by giving real-time alerts and control.
The incidents, however, do expose a gap in security design if not a sophisticated cyberattack.
Tech content creator Abhishek Bhatnagar, who posted a breakdown of the issue on X in Hindi, said that responsibility for fixing the vulnerability lay with dealers and manufacturers, who should configure passwords on battery management systems before handing vehicles over.
Regulatory authorities could also make password protection a requirement, he said.
Delhi has just finalised a policy to issue new licence plates only to electric three-wheelers from 2027, effectively mandating a transition to e-rickshaws across the capital.
The vast majority of e-rickshaws on Indian roads are budget vehicles using low-cost components, the same category most exposed to the vulnerability the viral videos have highlighted.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has begun investigating the app over potential cybersecurity and public safety risks. BAT-BMS has been removed from Apple's App Store but remains available on Google Play.
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