In their statement, Reliance Jio clarified that recent discussions on X had sparked speculation about Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (AS55836) and a BGP route misconfiguration. “We categorically clarify that Jio has not been involved in any such incident,” the company asserted.
Recent posts on X have led to speculation regarding Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (AS55836) and a BGP route misconfiguration. We categorically clarify that Jio has not been involved in any such incident. Jio continues to operate its network in accordance with global Internet…
— Reliance Jio (@reliancejio) June 17, 2026
Jio emphasized that it “continues to operate its network in alignment with global Internet routing best practices and the highest standards of reliability, security, and transparency.”
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This statement followed Durov’s allegations that Reliance might have participated in attempts to ban the messaging platform in India and accused an associate of hampering Telegram’s internet access internationally—accusations which Reliance Jio firmly denied.
In a post on the social media platform X, Durov claimed that the Indian telecom operator Reliance was “sabotaging access” to Telegram for millions of users outside India, including in the UAE, using a method known as Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) hijacking.
“The sabotage appears deliberate, as Reliance has disregarded numerous reports. This could be part of a competitive strategy since Reliance is partially owned by Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp,” Durov remarked. He added he wouldn’t be surprised if “Reliance/WhatsApp” were involved in lobbying efforts to impose a ban on Telegram in India.
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The accusations arise amidst increased scrutiny of Telegram in India. Reports indicate that the government has instructed Apple and Google to remove the Telegram app from their app stores until June 22, as authorities aim to curb the spread of examination-related materials tied to the re-test of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG).
The re-examination is set for June 21, following the cancellation of an earlier test on May 3 due to paper leak allegations.
Additionally, Telegram has been asked to disable its message-editing feature for prior messages in India until June 30, a measure designed to prevent the creation of retrospective content that might be used to fabricate evidence of question-paper leaks.
In another social media post, Durov criticized the Indian IT ministry’s week-long ban on Telegram “because some users shared leaked exam questions.” “This punishes over 150M ordinary Telegram users in India—not the insiders who leaked the exam materials,” he stated.
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“And the ban hasn’t halted anything. The leaks just shifted to other apps.” Furthermore, he noted that Telegram has removed hundreds of channels sharing illicit exam materials and related scams in India over recent weeks.
“We’re also enhancing the visibility of the ‘edited’ label to prevent backdating scams,” he added. “Telegram is a force for good. Banning it—even temporarily—is a mistake.”
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