A cyber attack took place on the automatic meter reading system (AMR) of Haryana power utilities in Panchkula, an official said to PTI on 28 March.

A report in The New Indian Express added that whoever was responsible for the hack also demanded Rs 1 crore in bitcoin from the state government to decrypt the files and restore access to the system.

The New Indian Express, quoting anonymous sources said that UHBVN, which monitors electricity billing for nine districts in Haryana, was the target of a cyber attack at seventeen minutes past midnight on 21 March.

PTI confirmed that an attack indeed did take place around midnight on 21 March.