Telegram was warned at highest levels about app’s misuse before blanket ban: NTA D-G

Published 17 June 2026 · india

Representatives of messaging app Telegram were called in for meetings “at the highest levels” and warned about the misuse of the app’s features that facilitate

Representatives of messaging app Telegram were called in for meetings “at the highest levels” and warned about the misuse of the app’s features that facilitate “paper leak frauds” before a blanket ban was issued, Abhishek Singh, Director-General of the Testing Agency (NTA), told The Hindu on Wednesday (June 17, 2026). The Electronics and Information Technology Ministry blocked nationwide access to Telegram until June 22. Additionally, it ordered Telegram to disable its message-editing feature for all Indian users until June 30. Singh said the primary motive behind government intervention is to halt the spread of engineered fake leaks that can spread panic among the students ahead of the Entrance Cum Eligibility Test (NEET) re-exam scheduled on June 21. “The government had previously approached Telegram regarding the misuse of two specific features, including making edited timestamps visible in Telegram groups and addressing the issue of lack of stringent naming filters for its groups. However, Telegram did not alter its system then,” Mr. Singh said. NTA was concerned about the modus operandi used by bad actors on Telegram to trigger mass panic by fabricating evidence of question paper leaks. Cheating syndicates have been systematically exploiting a specific loophole in Telegram’s group and channel synchronisation features. For instance, a bad actor can create a public Telegram channel and link it to an associated group. Days before an exam, the administrator can upload a random PDF file on the channel, name it provocatively such as “NEET Question Paper Leaked”. The day after the actual exam, the operator then can use Telegram’s edit feature to replace the dummy PDF with the actual question paper.

While the post inside the channel shows an ‘edited’ tag, the linked group retains the timestamp of the original post made days earlier. This creates a highly convincing illusion that the actual question paper was available on the platform before the exam began, sparking panic. “After the ban, Telegram founder Pavel Durov said on X that they are making the ‘edited’ label more visible to prevent backdating scams. However, this change is still not visible on the app,” Mr. Singh said. “Why can’t Telegram simply fix its metadata so that timestamp changes are accurately reflected in linked group chats,” he asked. Pointing out that Telegram allows creation of alleged criminal groups with questionable names such as “Paper Leak NEET Mafia”, Mr. Singh said the app has to “adhere to norms”. The NTA Director-General argued that the lack of stringent naming filters and the ability to rapidly obscure participant identities have turned the platform into a hub for various alleged illegal activities, ranging from paper leaks to investment fraud. On June 15, The Hindu had reported that Ahmedabad Police Cyber Cell had busted a fake NEET paper leak claims racket which used Telegram. Integrity vs liberty The move to ban Telegram has evoked a debate among government authorities, technical experts, and legal analysts over examination integrity versus digital liberties. Manindra Agarwal, Director, IIT-Kanpur, said that because NEET exam papers have been leaked, NTA’s motive is to stop the spread of fake news. “Telegram is a popular app, but it should also act in a responsible way especially if it has been requested to tweak certain features,” Mr. Agarwal said.