Website sells sleaze with Naidu photo

Finally, it has happened. An ‘‘e-governance’’ website, which flashes Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s smiling ...

Finally, it has happened. An ‘‘e-governance’’ website, which flashes Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s smiling face, promising links to both state government departments and sleazy stuff.

Type in apgov.com and a slick website appears with Naidu’s photograph, a Janmabhoomi augury pot and a flash ‘‘apgov.com is a (not an) e-governance site’’.

Click on Department of Education and raunchy photographs follow. The site, operated by BazaarE.com Pvt Ltd, promises ‘‘access to 1,000s of steamy video products’’.

Story continues below this ad

Apgov.com also offers information on a host of government departments such as the MarkFed, Tourism, Department of Education, Finance, Agriculture, Transport, Technology, Civil Supplies, HUDA and the AP State Council for Higher Education.

While the links to other departments work fine, those meant for the Department of Education and the AP State Council for Higher Education, linked via apsche.com, take one to ‘‘ultra videos’’ (the official website of the council is apsche.org). IT Secretary S.K. Sinha said there was ‘‘no mechanism’’ by which people can be checked from registering domain names identical to official websites (the government site is ap.gov.in). ‘‘It is a serious matter since the site provides information about the government and at the same offering objectionable stuff. We will track down the culprit,’’ he said.

A bit of Internet snooping revealed that apgov.com has been registered by one Srikant Chimata, using the ‘‘godaddy.com domain services’’.

'Remain in US, avoid travel': Microsoft, JP Morgan, Amazon advise visa holders to return before Trump’s $100,000 H-1B fee deadline

‘Stay in US, avoid travel’: Firms advise H-1B visa holders to return before fee deadline

World35 min ago

Microsoft and JP Morgan have warned their employees on H-1B and H-4 visas to return to the US before September 21 due to President Trump's new visa fee rules. Amazon has also advised against international travel. The policy includes a $100,000 annual surcharge on H-1B visas and has caused market fluctuations. It will be in effect for at least 12 months.

View all shorts

Live Blog