India, June 18 -- In a counter affidavit against Telegram's plea for a temporary restriction, the Central government reportedly told the Delhi High Court today that the messaging platform has become a "new dark web", allowing criminals to link and carry out illegal activities.

As per a report by the Bar and Bench, the Centre argued that it identified a Telegram channel titled "NEET Mafia", which had approximately 18,617 subscribers when last checked. Such channels led the MeitY to impose the temporary restriction.

"Telegram has become the new dark web, linking threat actors. Criminals have rapidly adopted Telegram to post links on channels that connect to dark web forums through deep web links, making it hard for authorities to track an...