New Delhi, India

The messaging app Telegram is being investigated by the Indian government after concerns were raised regarding the company indulging in criminal activities like gambling and extortion, Indian news website Moneycontrol claimed in a report. 

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A government official informed the media platform about the development and added that the messaging app faces the risk of getting banned on the basis of the findings of the investigations, Moneycontrol reported. 

The reports of the investigation emerged after the 39-year-old founder and chief executive officer of Telegram Pavel Durov was arrested in Paris on August 24 over the moderation policies of the application. 

According to reports, he was detained by the police because he could not prevent criminal activities on the application.

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"The Indian Cybercrime Co-ordination Centre (I4C) (under MHA) and MeitY have been looking into P2P communications on Telegram," said a government official, while speaking to Moneycontrol.

Also Read: Who is Pavel Durov? Telegram founder and CEO arrested in France

According to Moneycontrol's report, the investigation is being conducted by India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Ministry of Home Affairs which are looking into criminal activities like extortion and gambling.

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Telegram's India presence and involvement in criminal activities

In India, Telegram has more than 5 million registered users. The social media platform was in the news for becoming the place where the medical entrance exam papers were leaked and widely shared which led to the UGC-NEET controversy.

The government authorities have found it challenging to investigate Telegram because it does not have operations in India.

Direct communication has always been hindered because of the absence of local offices, which has complicated the efforts to get user data.

"We will examine the kind of material that we get and based on our laws, we will come to a conclusion," said the official, while speaking to Moneycontrol.

Watch: Telegram CEO Pavel Durov arrested in France

French authorities arrested Durov at Bourget airport outside Paris and he is being investigated for the lack of moderators on Telegram. 

As per Moneycontrol, because of this situation, criminal activities went on undeterred on the application. 

The company released a statement on August 26, in which it said, "Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe. Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as a means of communication and as a source of vital information. We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all... It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for abuse of that platform."

(With inputs from agencies)