NEET UG: ‘Fake Papers Flooded Telegram, Students Fooled’, NTA Chief Justifies Ban

National Testing Agency (NTA) Director General Abhishek Singh on Tuesday defended the government’s decision to temporarily restrict Telegram before the re-NEET-UG 2026 exam. He said the step was necessary because the platform was being widely misused by fraudsters to sell fake question papers and cheat worried students.

Speaking to ANI, Singh also claimed that some of these channels were being run from countries that are not friendly towards India.

The Centre had imposed temporary restrictions on Telegram ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-exam scheduled for June 21. The decision was taken after repeated complaints that fake paper leak channels were active on the platform and action against them was slow.

Singh said the government had no choice but to

act, as scammers were sharing fake papers as real ones and asking students and parents for money. He admitted that the step might seem too harsh, but said it was needed to protect students and their careers. He added that the government would take strict action whenever required.

“We had to take this drastic step because the platform was continuously being misused by scamsters and fraudsters who were sharing fake question papers as genuine papers and trying to fool students and parents into paying for them,” Singh said.

“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. 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,” Singh told the news agency.

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On concerns that people could still use VPNs or operate channels from outside India, Singh said this might happen, but the restrictions would still reduce access for students, he explained. “Some people can operate channels by using VPNs, or they can operate them from outside India. We found that some channels were being operated from countries which are not the best friends of India. They may continue to operate these channels, but if there is no clientele and students cannot access them, the fraud will be prevented, and students will be protected from losing money and wasting their time chasing fake question papers,” he said.

He said that around 200 such channels had already been identified and blocked. He also pointed out a feature on Telegram that allows users to edit old messages while keeping the same timestamp, which can be misused to falsely claim that papers were shared before the exam.

Singh said the move was also meant to protect the confidence of over 22 lakh students appearing for NEET. He stressed that students should believe the exam is fair and based only on merit.

“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,” he said.

He added that the NTA has taken several steps to ensure the exam is conducted smoothly and without malpractice. These include tighter security during paper setting, translation, printing, transport, and storage. The agency has also worked with multiple government departments and security forces to safeguard the process.

“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.