Reliance Jio has denied any role in an alleged internet routing issue linked to the recent Telegram ban controversy in India. The clarification came after Telegram CEO and founder Pavel Durov accused “Reliance” of sabotaging access to the platform for users outside India. He was talking about Reliance Communications (RCom), not Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). Durov made the allegation in a post on X following the government’s decision to block Telegram until June 22, 2026. Below is everything you need to know, including what Durov claimed and how Reliance Jio responded.
The government imposed the ban because leaked NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination papers were circulating on the messaging platform. Following the ban, Durov accused RCom of sabotaging access to Telegram for users outside India. According to him, the telecom operator is using a technique called BGP hijacking.
“Indian telecom Reliance is sabotaging access to Telegram for millions of users OUTSIDE India (including the UAE) via a rogue method called BGP hijacking,” he posted on X. “The sabotage seems intentional, as Reliance has ignored multiple reports.”
Durov also claimed that the issue could be linked to competition in the messaging platform market. He said that RCom has investments from Meta, the company that owns WhatsApp. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Reliance/WhatsApp were also behind the recent lobbying effort to ban Telegram in India,” he wrote.
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Reliance Jio, which is a part of RIL, has now responded to the situation and denied any connection to the reported incident. In a statement posted on X, the company said, “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.”
The company further added, “Jio continues to operate its network in accordance with global Internet routing best practices and the highest standards of reliability, security, and transparency.”
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Durov has also criticised the government’s decision to block Telegram in India. According to him, the ban affects millions of users who were not involved in the alleged paper leak. “This punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India — not the insiders who leaked the exam materials,” he wrote.
He also claimed that blocking Telegram has not stopped the spread of the leaked content. “The leaks just moved to other apps,” he said.