New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal Twitter handle was "very briefly compromised", the Prime Minister`s Office (PMO) said in a tweet on Sunday.

"The Twitter handle of PM @narendramodi was very briefly compromised. The matter was escalated to Twitter and the account has been immediately secured. In the brief period that the account was compromised, any tweet shared must be ignored," PMO India said in a tweet.

The account, with more than 73.4 million followers, has now been restored.

Before the account was restored, a tweet was shared with a URL on Modi's timeline which read: "India has officially adopted bitcoin as legal tender. The government has officially bought 500 BTC and is distributing them to all residents of the country."

Minutes later, another tweet was posted, saying: "Yes this account is hacked by John Wick (hckindia@tutanota.com), We have not hacked Paytm Mall."

After the account was compromised, #Hacked began trending in India.

"Good Morning Modi ji, Sab Changa Si?," Srinivas BV, the national president of the Indian Youth Congress, tweeted.

"Was the Twitter account of the Hon'ble PM shri #NarendraModi ji hacked? And promise of #Bitcoin !!" tweeted political activist Tehseen Poonawalla.