The Indian government has blocked access to Telegram until June 22, acting against cheating rackets that used the messaging platform to defraud students ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) ordered the restriction under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, following recommendations from the National Testing Agency (NTA) days before lakhs of medical aspirants sit for the re-test on June 21.
Time-Bound Block and Message-Editing Feature Disabled
The block is time-bound, with access restricted until June 22, covering the exam day and its immediate aftermath. In a separate directive, Telegram has been instructed to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30. The NTA stated that this tool has been repeatedly misused to manufacture fake “paper leak” proof after exams conclude.
The NTA described the action as calibrated and necessary. “The directions have been issued in the interest of public order, in response to the organised use of the platform by cheating rackets to defraud candidates appearing for the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination,” the agency said. It thanked MeitY for swift intervention, adding that the measures would help conduct the re-exam safely on June 21.
Background of the NEET-UG 2026 Re-Examination
Last month, authorities scrapped the original NEET-UG exam after discovering that its questions had leaked. The fresh sitting was scheduled for June 21. Telegram channels quickly exploited the chaos, offering fake access to the question paper.
How Fraudsters Used Telegram’s Editing Feature
Telegram allows channel admins to rewrite old posts, swapping out attached PDFs and files while keeping the original send-time stamp intact. According to the NTA, fraudsters used this to fake leaks: an admin edits an innocuous older message, inserts the actual question paper after the exam, and then circulates the chat as “evidence” that the paper was available beforehand. Disabling the feature for the post-exam window closes that loophole. The NTA stressed that this does not prevent anyone from sending or receiving new messages.
Openly Advertised Scams
Channels advertised their purpose openly, with names like “PAPER LEAKED NEET,” “Re-NEET 2026,” “Private Mafia,” and “REE NEET MAFIAA.” Operators demanded amounts ranging from a few thousand rupees to several lakhs from candidates and their families in exchange for supposed access to the re-exam paper. The NTA flatly denied that any such paper exists outside the secured chain, stating that every promise of it is a fraud.
Crackdown by I4C, Bihar Police, and Ahmedabad Cyber Cell
The block was not sudden. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, coordinated the response based on inputs from the NTA and state police forces in Bihar, Gujarat, and Rajasthan. I4C, with MeitY’s backing, had already taken down numerous Telegram channels, groups, and bots peddling fake paper promises.
State agencies acted in parallel. Bihar Police’s Economic Offences Unit issued a public advisory on June 9, warning candidates against fraudulent claims. In Gujarat, the Ahmedabad City Cyber Crime Branch arrested members of an inter-state fraud gang running eight Telegram channels with the same playbook. Investigators traced approximately Rs 1.5 crore in transactions through fake bank accounts and nearly 1,000 mobile numbers contacted in a single month. The Central Bureau of Investigation is conducting a parallel inquiry, and probes are underway in several other states.
Why the NTA Pushed for a Full Telegram Block
The NTA framed the platform-wide block as a last resort. Taking down channels individually had structural limits, as operators simply created new ones. Thus, the agency and the Department of Higher Education pushed for graduated, platform-level compliance. The restriction is deliberately narrow, confined to the exam window to minimize disruption.
The agency acknowledged that the block inconveniences lakhs of users who rely on Telegram for legitimate personal, professional, and educational use, and expressed regret. The re-exam proceeds as planned on June 21. Candidates have been urged to ignore unverified content, trust only official NTA channels and the website (neet.nta.nic.in), and report any fraudulent approaches to the cybercrime helpline at 1930.
