NEW DELHI: The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the home ministry, on Friday directed GitHub to remove repositories hosting Bitchat, a decentralised messaging application that enables peer-to-peer communication over Bluetooth mesh networks without relying on the internet, mobile networks or centralised servers. Bitchat is an app founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

The order targets Bitchat, an offline Bluetooth mesh app built to relay encrypted messages and bitcoin transactions, as 'Cockroach Janta Party' protesters in Delhi use mesh tools…

The order gave GitHub three hours to pull three code repositories, citing the messaging app's use during protest internet shutdowns.

Government orders GitHub to block Bitchat amid Delhi protests, raising concerns over digital rights and internet freedom.