'Telegram Ban Punishes 150 Million Indians,' Says Founder Pavel Durov As India Restricts Messaging Platform Amid NEET 2026 Crackdown

Telegram founder Pavel Durov on Tuesday criticised India’s temporary restrictions on the messaging platform, saying the move had 'punished' more than 150 million ordinary users in the country while failing to stop the spread of leaked content and fraud.

Reacting to the Centre’s decision to temporarily block access to Telegram ahead of the NEET UG 2026 re-examination, Durov said the restrictions merely pushed such activities to other platforms instead of solving the problem.

“The ban has not stopped anything. The leaks simply moved to other apps,” Durov said, while responding to the Indian government’s action against Telegram-linked examination fraud.

India Imposes Temporary Ban On Telegram

India has temporarily restricted access to Telegram following allegations that the platform was being used by organised groups to spread fake paper leak claims and defraud medical aspirants ahead of the national medical entrance examination.

The controversy comes after the NEET UG 2026 examination was rocked by allegations of paper leaks and malpractice last month, leading to the cancellation of results for millions of candidates and triggering nationwide outrage.

Days before the NEET UG 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had taken several measures to curb online misinformation and fraud linked to the exam.

In a statement issued on June 16, the NTA said Telegram access in India would remain temporarily restricted until June 22, covering the examination period and its immediate aftermath. The government has also directed Telegram to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30.

According to the NTA, the decision was taken after authorities identified multiple Telegram channels allegedly claiming to possess leaked NEET question papers and demanding money from students and parents.

The agency said groups with names such as 'PAPER LEAKED NEET,' 'Re-NEET 2026' and 'Private Mafia' were allegedly being used to lure candidates with false promises of leaked examination papers and guaranteed success.

The NTA reiterated that no individual, institution or online platform has access to the NEET UG 2026 question paper before the examination is conducted and warned students against falling for fraudulent claims circulating online. The agency also thanked MeitY for taking what it described as a “timely and calibrated” step to ensure the safe and secure conduct of the examination.