Lionel Messi, at 39, has scored the first hat-trick of the FIFA World Cup 2026 with a stunning range of strikes in the Argentina vs Algeria clash on Wednesday. The 8-time Ballon d'Or winner took his tally of World Cup goals to 16, levelling him with Germany's Miroslav Klose on the all time record for most goals. Lionel Messi is the oldest player to ever score a hat-trick at the World Cup.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov criticised India’s temporary restrictions on the platform, saying the move affected over 150 million users without stopping leaked content or fraud. He argued that such activities simply shifted to other apps. The curbs were imposed ahead of the NEET UG 2026 re-examination amid concerns over fake paper leak claims.

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.

India’s IT ministry banned Telegram for one week because some users shared leaked exam questions.

This punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India — not the insiders who leaked the exam materials.

And the ban hasn’t stopped anything. The leaks just moved to other apps. https://t.co/CzQWN4mXfb

— Pavel Durov (@durov) June 16, 2026

“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.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has welcomed the Ministry of Electronics and IT’s directions restricting Telegram access in India until June 22, 2026, ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination on June 21 pic.twitter.com/TkCFPQjl29

— IANS (@ians_india) June 16, 2026

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.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/tech/telegram-ban-punishes-150-million-indians-says-founder-pavel-durov-as-india-restricts-messaging-platform-amid-neet-2026-crackdown