India’s top cybercrime agency has ordered GitHub to remove repositories hosting Bitchat, the offline messaging application developed by Block CEO and Bitcoin advocate Jack Dorsey, citing concerns that the app could be used to evade government surveillance during internet shutdowns.

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs, issued the directive under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act. The order instructed GitHub to disable access to three repositories connected to Bitchat within three hours. That provision is commonly used to notify intermediaries to remove or disable access to specified online material, a step that can affect how open-source code is hosted and distributed even when the underlying software is already available elsewhere.

The order comes as “Cockroach Janta Party” protesters in Delhi have been using mesh-networking tools such as BitChat to communicate during internet shutdowns. According to the notice, the app’s decentralized architecture and anonymous, registration-free design make lawful interception and criminal investigations significantly more difficult.

Bitchat is an open-source messaging application that allows encrypted communication between nearby devices over Bluetooth mesh networks. It does not require internet access, mobile networks, centralized servers, or user accounts. Dorsey introduced the project as an open-source alternative intended for censorship-resistant communication. Tools built around local device-to-device networking are especially relevant in places where authorities restrict mobile data or broadband access during demonstrations, because they can keep short-range communication channels available without relying on telecom networks.

The app also supports offline Bitcoin transaction relays, allowing signed transactions to be passed from one device to another over Bluetooth until they reach a connected device capable of broadcasting them to the Bitcoin network. The feature is designed to enable payments during internet outages, disasters, or government-imposed shutdowns.

The takedown order follows student-led demonstrations in New Delhi, where offline mesh-networking tools have reportedly become more widely used after authorities repeatedly suspended internet services around protest sites. Researchers say protesters have turned to Bitchat and similar Bluetooth-based applications to maintain communications during those disruptions.

Although the government’s notice specifically targets GitHub repositories containing Bitchat’s source code, it was not immediately clear whether GitHub complied with the order within the stated deadline. The application remained available through major app stores at the time of publication.

Legal experts noted that open-source software can continue to circulate through mirrored repositories even if access is disabled on a single hosting platform. The practical impact of the order may therefore depend not only on GitHub’s response, but also on whether authorities pursue additional distribution channels beyond the named repositories.