Telegram CEO alleges Reliance involved in service disruption, unverified claim
Telegram founder Pavel Durov has publicly accused Reliance, an Indian telecommunications company, of disrupting access to Telegram for users outside India through a practice known as Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) hijacking. The allegation was made on the social media platform X on June 16, 2026. Reliance has not yet issued a public response to the claim.
To understand the significance of the allegation, it is important to understand how the internet routes data. BGP is often described as the internet's routing system. Every message sent on Telegram, every file downloaded and every connection established depends on networks around the world knowing where Telegram's servers are located. BGP acts as the digital map that directs this traffic across thousands of interconnected networks.
When functioning normally, BGP ensures data reaches its destination efficiently. However, if a network incorrectly or falsely announces itself as the preferred route for certain internet traffic, that traffic can be redirected, delayed or dropped entirely. This is commonly known as BGP hijacking. In practical terms, users may experience outages, connection failures, slower speeds or complete inability to access a service. For a platform with hundreds of millions of users like Telegram, a routing disruption can have immediate international consequences.
Mr Durov's allegation suggests that Telegram traffic was intentionally misrouted, affecting users outside India, including in the United Arab Emirates. Such claims are serious because internet routing incidents can disrupt services across multiple countries within minutes. However, while routing anomalies can often be detected technically, proving deliberate sabotage requires substantial independent verification. At present, no publicly available evidence has conclusively established either the cause or intent behind the alleged disruption.
The controversy comes at a time when Telegram is already facing direct action from the Indian government. On June 16, New Delhi temporarily blocked Telegram nationwide until June 22, citing concerns that organised exam-fraud networks had used the platform to circulate leaked medical entrance examination material ahead of the NEET-UG re-examination. Authorities also directed Telegram to disable certain message-editing functions until June 30, arguing that the feature had been used to manipulate timestamps and fabricate evidence related to examination leaks. The restrictions were imposed under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, following recommendations from the National Testing Agency.
The government's position is that the move is temporary and aimed at protecting the integrity of one of India's most important competitive examinations, taken by more than two million aspiring medical students. Officials argue that Telegram had become a key tool for organised cheating networks and that urgent intervention was necessary ahead of the re-test. Mr Durov has criticised the ban, arguing that it punishes more than 150 million ordinary Indian users while doing little to stop those responsible for exam leaks. He has maintained that the individuals behind the fraud can simply migrate to alternative platforms, leaving legitimate users and businesses to bear the consequences.
At this stage, there is no evidence directly linking Mr Durov's allegations against Reliance to the government's decision to block Telegram. The government's action is publicly tied to the NEET examination matter. Independent verification of the BGP hijacking claim is awaited.
