For the past two weeks, every time 45-year-old e-rickshaw driver Peshkar slowed down in traffic, he worried someone had remotely switched off his vehicle.“I took my vehicle to the manufacturing company in Naraina where they said they had installed a code on my battery, so no one will be able to shut it off. I am happy that they did this for free,” said Peshkar, who ferries passengers in his e-rickshaw between Moti Nagar and Inderlok in West Delhi.The reassurance comes after weeks of anxiety among Delhi’s e-rickshaw drivers, whose vehicles had stopped dead in the middle of the road after strangers using Bluetooth-enabled mobile apps connected to their vehicles’ battery management systems (BMS) and remotely switched them off.Explained | How a battery ‘hacking’ app can strand an e-rickshaw — and the risks it posesFollowing reports of the misuse, the Centre directed Apple and Google to take down seven mobile applications linked to the batteries, while manufacturers rolled out their own apps.Apart from a few stray incidents, most e-rickshaw drivers who spoke to The Indian Express said they have not experienced any fresh incidents since the apps were blocked, with business returning to normal.Fifty-year-old Ranjeet still recalls the panic when his e-rickshaw suddenly stopped in the middle of the road two weeks ago. “I was ferrying four passengers when my e-rickshaw suddenly stopped at Mundka Mor. I couldn’t understand it because my battery was more than half charged,” he said.He said he tried to restart, but to no avail. Some fellow e-rickshaw drivers pushed his vehicle to the side of the road. “I couldn’t push alone as I am a heart patient,” he said.Story continues below this adBesides refunding Rs 40 to his passengers, he estimates he had lost a few hundred rupees more while searching for a mechanic. The vehicle stopped around 5 pm and did not restart until 10 pm, wiping out his peak earning hours.The next day, his vehicle stopped again at the Mundka Metro station around 11 pm. “This time, some kind strangers helped me in pushing it to the nearest mechanic. He said he has locked my battery. Since then, my vehicle has not stopped,” Ranjeet said.Rajiv Tuli, General Secretary of Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Society (EVMS), said manufacturing companies set up helplines that stranded drivers could call and get assistance on how to restart their vehicle. “They have also made their own apps now which drivers can use,” he said.The apps that had been directed to be blocked include BAT-BMS, Lossigy, Epoch Li-ion, and Smart BMS, among others. At least a couple of them are of Chinese-origin.Story continues below this adThe BAT-BMS app was originally developed by China’s Shenzhen Grenergy Technology as a legitimate battery management tool for Bluetooth-enabled lithium-ion batteries. The app allows users to monitor a battery’s state of charge, voltage, current, temperature, charging cycles, and overall health.Such apps are typically designed to be used at service centres for battery-related diagnostics.Don't Miss | Disable 7 apps, Government tells Apple, Google after e-rickshaw shutdown videosThe problem emerged because several low-cost lithium-ion batteries used in e-rickshaws were fitted with Chinese-made battery management systems that lacked adequate password protection or continued to use default credentials, allowing anyone nearby to connect via Bluetooth and remotely switch off the battery.Not all e-rickshaws were susceptible to these attacks. Many e-rickshaws continue to run on lead-acid batteries, while several lithium-powered vehicles use proprietary battery management systems that cannot be accessed through applications like BAT-BMS.Story continues below this adJeetu Mehra, a 30-year-old who drives an e-rickshaw at Central Delhi’s Karol Bagh, is among the very few who said their vehicle stalled recently. “On Saturday, the moment passengers sat in my rickshaw at Juta Mandi, it stopped. But I was not scared this time,” he said.He had installed a BMS app. “It just took me a second to take out my phone and restart the vehicle,” he said.