So there’s this new prank going around Indian social media and honestly, it’s the kind that stopped being funny the moment I actually understood what was happening. People are walking up to moving e-rickshaws, opening an app on their phone and switching the vehicle off. Mid-ride. No wires, no keys, nothing. Just a Bluetooth connection and a button labelled “Discharge Switch.” The app at the centre of this is called BAT-BMS and it’s spread across Instagram, YouTube, X and Reddit fast enough that people have started calling the trend “Tirri Control,” using the local North Indian slang for e-rickshaws. Some videos show pranksters killing the power, filming the driver’s confused reaction, then quietly turning it back on. Others show drivers stuck on the road with no idea why their vehicle just died. It’s messy, it’s spreading and now the government wants answers.
