NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office summoned the telecommunications secretary on Saturday to explain how officials ordered the takedown of more than 100 websites based on court orders that Reuters revealed were fake, two government sources said.
The intervention from Modi’s office signals intensifying scrutiny after Reuters revealed on Wednesday that telecom officials directed Internet providers to block 129 illegal betting websites based on fake High Court orders which were emailed to officials by people posing as lawyers. While online betting is illegal in India, the case has raised concerns that a lack of safeguards in India’s content-takedown system could allow falsified court documents to be used to block legitimate websites.
The findings have triggered one criminal investigation by state police against unknown persons for forgery and cheating. Modi’s office summoned Telecom Secretary Amit Agrawal to appear and explain the lapse, cutting short Agrawal’s trip to another state, said the two government officials with knowledge of the matter.
Agrawal is the most senior bureaucrat in the telecommunications ministry, which oversees everyone from big telecom operators to Internet providers.
“The action taken by the Department of Telecommunications against betting accounts was carried out through the relevant field officers,” said one of the people.
Agrawal and his ministry did not respond to Reuters queries, and neither did Modi’s office.
