Hyderabad: Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov said the temporary suspension of Telegram services in India affected more than 150 million users. The restriction was imposed ahead of the NEET UG 2026 re examination as part of efforts to prevent examination malpractice.
Durov made the remarks in a post on X. He said India’s Information Technology Ministry suspended Telegram for one week because some users allegedly shared leaked examination questions on the platform.
The Telegram chief stated that the company had already removed hundreds of channels in recent weeks for allegedly sharing leaked exam materials and running related scams.
Telegram Suspension and NEET Exam Concerns
The Indian government ordered the temporary suspension of Telegram services until June 22. The move followed recommendations from the National Testing Agency, which conducts the NEET examination for medical admissions.
The re examination is scheduled for June 21 after allegations of question paper leaks during the original test held on May 3.
Authorities also directed Telegram to disable its message editing feature in India until June 30. Investigators believe the feature was previously misused to alter message timestamps and create misleading evidence related to question paper leaks.
Durov said Telegram is working to make message edit labels more visible. He added that the change aims to prevent backdating scams and content manipulation.
Meanwhile, Google and Apple have removed Telegram from their app stores in India following the government directive.
The development has triggered discussions about platform accountability, exam security and the impact of restrictions on millions of users across the country.
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