Telegram is being investigated by Indian authorities over its alleged use in allowing extortion and gambling, according to a government official.
The messaging app could face a ban depending on the findings of the probe which is being led by the country's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, reported Moneycontrol.
The development comes in the wake of the arrest of Telegram founder outside Paris by the French authorities over the app's moderation policies.
Over the years, Telegram and a few other social media have emerged as easy tools for activities which run afoul of the Indian laws.
"We will examine the kind of material that we get and based on our laws, we will come to a conclusion," the official said, according to the website.
Durov was arrested at Bourget airport outside Paris by French authorities who have been reportedly investigating the lack of moderators on Telegram.
Durov was detained Saturday night after his private jet arrived in Paris from Azerbaijan. His arrest took place as part of a probe into a series of charges including complicity in the detaining and sharing of child pornography, the Paris prosecutor's office said in a statement.
The probe was opened "against an unidentified person" and did not specifically target Durov, the prosecutor said.
In a statement, Telegram said that its CEO — a Russian-born French-Emirati citizen — had "nothing to hide" and that the company abided by EU law.
President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said that the French government was not involved in the arrest of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov and his detention was a result of an ongoing judicial process.
"The arrest of Telegram's president on French territory took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. This is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to decide," Macron said on X in French.
Support poured in from tech honchos and the general public alike immediately after the news broke about his arrest on Saturday.
Mikhail Ulyanov, the representative of Russia Mission in Vienna, in a post on X called Durov "naive" and some democracies "totalitarian."
"Some naive persons still don't understand that if they play more or less visible role in international information space it is not safe for them to visit countries which move towards much more totalitarian societies," Ulyanov wrote.
X owner Elon Musk threw his lot behind the fellow entrepreneur posting several messages on his app castigating France for his arrest. "It's 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme," he wrote.
Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov. Image Source: TechCrunch
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