Telegram Suspension in India Affected Over 150 Million Users, Says CEO Pavel Durov

New Delhi, June 2026 : Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has said that the temporary suspension of the messaging platform in India ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination affected more than 150 million users across the country.

In a post on social media platform X, Durov stated that India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology imposed a one-week ban on Telegram after some users allegedly shared leaked examination questions on the platform. According to him, the suspension impacted a vast number of users who rely on Telegram for communication and information sharing.

Durov also revealed that Telegram had recently taken action against channels involved in the circulation of leaked examination material and related scams. He said the platform had removed hundreds of such channels in recent weeks in an effort to curb misuse.

The Telegram chief further noted that the company is working on strengthening safeguards against misinformation and manipulation. One such measure includes making the “edited” label on messages more visible to users in order to prevent backdating scams and the misuse of message timestamps.

The Indian government ordered the temporary suspension of Telegram services until June 22 as part of efforts to ensure the integrity of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, which is scheduled to be held on June 21.

The re-examination was announced following allegations of question paper leaks during the original NEET-UG exam conducted on May 3. Authorities have been taking stringent measures to prevent any recurrence of malpractice and maintain fairness in the examination process.

The decision to temporarily restrict Telegram was reportedly based on recommendations from the National Testing Agency (NTA), the body responsible for conducting NEET examinations for admissions to undergraduate medical courses across India.

In addition to suspending the platform temporarily, authorities directed Telegram to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30. Investigators believe that the feature may have been used in some cases to alter message timestamps and create misleading evidence regarding the circulation of leaked question papers.

Meanwhile, Google and Apple have removed Telegram from their respective app stores in compliance with the government’s directive.

The episode highlights the growing challenge of balancing digital freedom with examination security, as authorities and technology platforms grapple with preventing misuse while ensuring access for millions of legitimate users.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)