National Testing Agency (NTA) Director General Abhishek Singh on Tuesday defended the Centre’s decision to temporarily restrict access to Telegram in India ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, saying the government had “no option” but to act against fraudsters who were using the platform to sell fake question papers and mislead students.

The restriction comes ahead of the NEET-UG re-examination scheduled for June 21. More than 22 lakh students are expected to appear for the medical entrance test.

In an interview to ANI, Singh said several channels on Telegram falsely claimed that they had access to leaked examination papers and demanded money from students and their families. He said the government could not ignore activities that threatened the integrity of the examination process.

“It may appear to be a sledgehammer, but when it is in the interest of the students, when it is in the interest of the careers of our 22 lakh young minds, every step will be taken,” Singh told ANI.

“The strong arm of the law will come down when it is required. We are not there to just issue warnings and threats, but to also act when it is needed in the interest of our young students,” he added.

Why did government restrict Telegram?

According to Singh, several Telegram channels openly claimed that they could provide access to the NEET re-examination paper. These groups allegedly charged amounts ranging from a few thousand rupees to several lakh rupees in exchange for what they described as leaked question papers.

The channels operated under names such as “PAPER LEAKED NEET”, “Re-NEET 2026”, “Private Mafia” and “REE NEET MAFIAA”. The NTA said all such claims were fraudulent and that no examination paper existed outside the secured examination system.

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“There is no such paper available outside the secured examination chain. The promise of any such material is, in every instance, a fraud,” the agency said, as reported by ANI.

Singh said some of these channels operated from countries “which are not the best friends of India”. He admitted that some users could bypass the restrictions by using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) or by accessing channels operating from abroad. However, he said the restrictions would still weaken the link between fraudsters and students.

According to the NTA, authorities and other agencies identified and blocked nearly 200 such channels.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued a formal notification under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, restricting access to Telegram in India for a limited period ending June 22, 2026. The restriction covers the day of the NEET-UG re-examination and the immediate period after it.

The NTA said the temporary restriction was necessary to stop fake question papers, misinformation and false narratives about paper leaks from spreading online.

Why was Telegram’s edit feature also restricted?

The government also ordered Telegram to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30. The NTA said this feature had been misused in previous examinations to create false evidence of paper leaks.

According to the agency, Telegram allows administrators to edit messages and replace attached files while retaining the original timestamp. Authorities say some individuals exploited this capability by editing old and harmless messages after an examination had already taken place.

In such cases, administrators allegedly inserted the actual question paper into older messages and then circulated screenshots claiming that the paper had been available before the examination.

The NTA said disabling the editing feature would stop fabricated claims from emerging after the NEET re-examination.

Singh also said the restrictions aimed to protect students’ confidence in the examination system, reported ANI. He said not every candidate would secure a qualifying score and many students could become discouraged if they believed others had gained unfair access to leaked papers.

“Not every student will qualify. We do not want students who fail to believe that they lost because someone else had access to a leaked paper. They should have confidence that the examination is based purely on merit,” Singh told ANI.

The NTA chief said the agency had introduced multiple security measures covering the preparation, translation, printing, transportation and storage of question papers.

He said the agency worked closely with the Ministry of Home Affairs, paramilitary forces, the Department of Posts, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of External Affairs, state governments and law enforcement agencies to ensure the examination process remained secure.

“We have taken every possible precaution. This is India’s commitment to its young minds, and we will ensure that the examination is conducted in a flawless manner across all 5,040 centres in India and 14 centres abroad,” Singh said.