People can now file a complaint with the Department of Telecom (DoT) against offensive messages received on WhatsApp, an official said on Friday. The victim just needs to furnish a screenshot of the message along with the mobile number and e-mail it to ccaddn-dot@nic.in.

"If anyone is receiving abusive/offensive/death threats/ vulgar whatsapp messages ,please send screen shots of the message along with the mobile numbers at ccaddn-dot@nic.in

If anyone is receiving abusive/offensive/death threats/ vulgar whatsapp messages ,please send screen shots of the message along with the mobile numbers at ccaddn-dot@nic.in

We will take it up with the telecom operators and police heads for necessary action.

cc @Secretary_DoT

— Ashish Joshi (@acjoshi) February 22, 2019

"We will take it up with the telecom operators and police heads for necessary action," DoT Controller Communications Ashish Joshi tweeted.

The move comes following many public figures, including journalists, complaining of receiving abusive and threatening messages.

The DoT, in an order on February 19, had said that license conditions bar carriage of objectionable, obscene or unauthorised content in any form on the network.

The order directed all telecom service providers to take immediate action against their customers for sending such messages as it is also a violation of customer declaration in the customer application form.