India’s government blocked access to Telegram on June 16, 2026. The move came just five days before the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination. Over 2.28 million students are set to sit the test on June 21.
The National Testing Agency confirmed the block in an official press release. NTA said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued the restriction under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. The access curb runs until June 22, one day after the exam.
Fraud Rackets Demanded Lakhs Per Fake Paper
Channels operating openly on Telegram used names like “PAPER LEAKED NEET,” “Re-NEET 2026,” and “REE NEET MAFIAA.” They charged candidates anywhere from a few thousand rupees to several lakhs. NTA stated plainly that no exam paper exists outside the secured examination chain.
The Ahmedabad City Cyber Crime Branch arrested members of an inter-state gang. The group ran eight Telegram channels. Documented transactions reached approximately 1.5 crore rupees, routed through fraudulent bank accounts.
Bihar Police issued a formal public advisory on June 9, 2026. Officers warned candidates against claims of pre-exam paper access circulating through Telegram and other platforms. Investigations are now running in multiple states.
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The Message-Editing Loophole Nobody Talked About
A second government direction targets a specific Telegram feature. The ministry ordered Telegram to disable its message-editing function in India until June 30, 2026. This is about something very specific.
Channel administrators can edit an old message after it was sent. They swap in an attached file, such as a question paper PDF. The original timestamp stays intact. NTA’s press release described how this was used to fabricate “after-the-event” paper leak evidence across multiple recent national examinations. The MeitY direction shuts that window.
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre had already been working to bring channels down. Acting on inputs from NTA and state law enforcement including police forces in Bihar, Gujarat, and Rajasthan, I4C secured removal of a substantial number of channels and bots. NTA placed on record that I4C’s coordinated action remained “the operational backbone of the response.”
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Digital Rights Groups Push Back Hard
Not everyone welcomed the block. The Internet Freedom Foundation called it reactive and unconstitutional. The IFF said the ban would punish ordinary users. Thousands of students depend on Telegram for study groups and shared resources in the final days before the exam.
The BBC reported the platform remained accessible to users in India hours after the government’s announcement. How the restriction would be enforced was not immediately clear. Telegram had not issued any statement at the time of reporting.
NTA acknowledged the inconvenience. The agency said it “sincerely regrets” the disruption for citizens using Telegram for legitimate personal, educational, and professional purposes. The block, NTA stressed, is strictly time-bound.
The NEET-UG exam has a troubled recent history. In 2024, the same test was rocked by paper leak allegations and irregularities in grace mark awards. This year’s original exam on May 3 was scrapped within days after fresh allegations surfaced. The Central Bureau of Investigation is running a parallel inquiry. More than a dozen arrests have been made.
NTA urged every candidate to rely only on the official website at www.neet.nta.nic.in for exam updates. Anyone who encounters fraudulent solicitations is advised to report to the National Cyber Crime Helpline at 1930 or through cybercrime.gov.in.
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Sources: NTA Official Press Release, June 16, 2026 | BBC News
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