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Telegram is under investigation by the Indian government and might face a ban due to concerns that the company is involved in criminal activities.
Things haven’t been going well for Telegram lately. A few days ago, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France for allegedly failing to prevent criminal activities like child sexual abuse, drug trafficking, fraud, and terrorism that have been occurring on the platform. Now, the messaging app is being investigated by the Indian government for its misuse in criminal activities such as extortion and gambling.
The investigation is being conducted by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). A government official told Moneycontrol that the app “might” get banned in India if found guilty.
The investigation of Telegram in India isn’t surprising, as the app was recently used to leak and spread the UGC-NEET medical entrance exam paper. The exam papers were reportedly sold for ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 each (about $60 to $119) on Telegram.
Before this, Telegram was summoned by the Indian Ministry of Information Technology in October 2023 for spreading child sexual abuse material through its platform. The app was asked to remove all such content.
The investigation into the current case is ongoing and may take some time to conclude, as Telegram does not have a local office in India, hindering communication between Indian officials and the company.
