Telegram is facing taut scrutiny from the Indian government over the popular messaging app's alleged role in promoting gambling and other criminal offences like extortion. (Image: X @telegram)

Since CEO Pavel Durov was arrested at the French Airport on Sunday, the Telegram app may get piled up with more troubles. According to Money Control, Telegram is facing taut scrutiny from the Indian government over the popular messaging app’s alleged role in promoting gambling and other criminal offences like extortion. The Indian government have assigned a team to probe the inappropriate activities which would lead to a complete ban on the app.

As per the reports, the investigation is assigned to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The team will probe the illegal activities on the messaging app and how the app has been used to promote extortion and gambling. the final decision will be taken based on the outcome of the probe by the government.

Also, read| Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Arrested At French Airport: Report

Early in 2023, Telegram confronted criticism for spreading misinformation and facilitating illegal activities like gambling, crypto and so on. In the same year in October, a notice was issued to Telegram asking to remove child sexual abuse material from the app.

In 2024, Telegram faced serious controversy in which the UGC-NEET paper was leaked and sprawled out on the platform selling the papers between Rs 5000 and Rs 10,000 in various Telegram groups.

However, the company has appointed a nodal officer and a chief compliance officer to look into the matter and publish a compliance report. The platform has maintained compliance with Indian laws but the government is facing difficulties in dealing with the app since there is not much physical presence in the country.

Also, read| Why Telegram’s Durov Was Arrested While Zuckerberg Remains Free: Elon Musk

French authorities arrested the telegram app’s CEO Pavel Durov, the 39-year-old entrepreneur in Paris,  the founder of the messaging app when he arrived in his private jet at Le Bourget Airport. The arrest was made under a warrant linked to certain offences on the Telegram platform and is likely to face serious charges as per the French media. The investigation centres on Telegram’s alleged lack of content moderation, including fraud, cyberbullying, drug trafficking, Promoting illegal activities and its alleged failure to forbid promoting terrorism on the platform.