Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has alleged that Reliance Group and WhatsApp may be linked to efforts to ban the messaging platform in India, while also accusing an Indian telecom operator of disrupting Telegram access for users outside the country.
In a post on X, Durov claimed that Reliance Communications was responsible for interfering with Telegram's connectivity through a technique known as 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.
The sabotage seems intentional, as Reliance has ignored multiple reports.
This may be part of a competitive war, as Reliance is partially owned by Meta, the company behind WhatsApp," Durov said.
He further alleged that the same entities could be behind recent moves against Telegram in India.
"Such abuse of global Internet routing is alarming. I wouldn't be surprised if Reliance/WhatsApp were also behind the recent lobbying effort to ban Telegram in India," he said.
However, a senior telecom industry source dismissed the allegations as "fake news," saying Durov had confused Reliance Communications (RCom) with Reliance Industries Ltd's digital arm, Jio.
While Meta holds a minority stake in Jio, the source pointed out that subsea cable operations are managed by Reliance Communications, a separate entity that is not part of Reliance Industries Ltd.
"The allegations he is making regarding Meta, however, relate to an entirely different company -- Jio. These are separate entities.
Meta is only a minority investor in Jio and has no role in its day-to-day operations or management.
Conflating the two demonstrates either a lack of understanding of the sector or a deliberate attempt to spread misinformation," the source said.
The controversy comes amid regulatory action against Telegram in India. The government has directed Google and Apple to delist the app from their stores until June 22 over concerns related to alleged paper leaks linked to the upcoming NEET-UG re-examination scheduled for June 21.
Authorities have also reportedly ordered Telegram to disable the message-editing feature for existing posts in India until June 30, citing concerns that the functionality could be used to create fabricated evidence of examination paper leaks.
(With inputs from PTI)