Mumbai: In a shocking revelation, the Maharashtra government on Monday said that the unprecedented power blackout that hit Mumbai and surroundings for several hours on October 12 last year, was caused by a suspected cyber-attack initiating in China.

"I feel the media reports that have emerged in the matter are true," Energy Minister Dr Nitin Raut told media.

Suspecting 'sabotage' as the cause behind the power outage, Raut had requested Home Minister of the state Anil Deshmukh to investigate the matter to get to the truth and a primary report in the matter has been submitted to the government.

"We will study the report in detail before commenting on it further," said Anil Deshmukh on the report prepared by the Maharashtra Cyber Police cell. "The Cyber Cell has submitted its preliminary report on the matter. The findings state that there is evidence to suggest there might have been a cyber-sabotage attempt," added Deshmukh

"When power went out in Mumbai on Oct. 12, I had said there was something wrong and had constituted 3 committees to probe I feel media reports that have surfaced are true," Raut said.

The power failure had tripped Mumbai and Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) comprising Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts and brought the city's lifelines - suburban railways to half besides hugely hitting industrial and business activities in the country's commercial capital.

A recent "New York Times" report hinted that China launched a cyber-attack against India, targeting its power grid in particular, in the wake of the Galwan Valley border clashes in 2020. As per the findings of Recorded Future, a Massachusetts-based firm that studies the use of Internet by state players, the Mumbai cyber-attack on power systems was allegedly carried out by a Chinese state-connected entity known as Red Echo, targeting the crucial Indian energy sector.

(With inputs from IANS)