Neetug Re Test Govt Places Curbs On Telegram Messaging App Till June 22

examination held on May 3 was cancelled amidst allegations of irregularities, leaving lakhs of aspirants in despair.The re-test is scheduled to be held on June 21.

The agency expressed its gratitude to MeitY for what it described as a "timely action" taken in the interest of students and said it would help ensure the conduct of "safe and secure examinations" on June 21.

"This sustained inter-agency effort, well in advance of the present platform-level action, is the reason the harm caused by these rackets has been contained to the extent it has," it added.

The agency said the directions were issued after references from the NTA and the Department of Higher Education highlighting the limitations of channel-by-channel action and seeking platform-level compliance.

"The directions are a measure of last resort, taken only after intermediate remedies, including the take-down action coordinated by I4C, had been pursued and had not produced, at the platform level, the response required to protect candidates in the run-up to the examination," it said.

"The calibration of the directions - a narrow platform-access restriction confined to the examination window, together with a feature-specific compliance direction for the post-examination period - reflects an effort to address the public-order concern with the minimum restriction necessary," it added.

The NTA said over the preceding weeks, channels operating openly on the platform under names that themselves advertised their purpose - "PER LEAKED NEET", "Re-NEET 2026", "Private Mafia", "REE NEET MAFIAA" and similar formulations - demanded sums ranging from a few thousand to several lakhs of rupees from candidates and their families, in exchange for purported access to the re-examination paper.

"NTA has placed on the record, and reiterates, that there is no such paper available outside the secured examination chain. The promise of any such material is, in every instance, a fraud," it said.

Explaining the decision to disable the message-editing feature, the agency said the feature, in its present form, permits a channel administrators to edit previously posted messages, including the substitution of attached files such as PDFs while the original send-time stamp is retained.

"This capability has been used, in respect of multiple recent examinations, to fabricate after-the-event 'paper leak' artefacts," the statement said, adding administrators could edit old messages after an examination to insert the actual question paper and later circulate screenshots as purported proof that the paper had been available beforehand.

"A channel administrator edits an older, innocuous message to insert the actual question paper after the examination has been conducted, and the resulting chat is then circulated as purported "evidence" that the paper was in circulation before the examination," it said.

"The MeitY direction closes this avenue of fabrication for the post-examination window in which such artefacts have historically been deployed," it added.

The NTA also cited actions taken by state law-enforcement agencies.

"The access restriction is, by its express terms, confined to the period ending 22 June 2026 i.e. the day after the examination," it said, adding the message-editing restriction would not affect ordinary use of the platform for sending or receiving new messages.

The agency reiterated that the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination would be conducted as scheduled on June 21.

"The security of the examination is unaffected by the action taken; it is, in fact, the very purpose of the action. Every candidate and parent is reassured of NTA's commitment to conducting a fair, secure and credible examination," it said.

Candidates were urged to rely only on official NTA channels and the NTA website for examination-related information and to ignore unverified content circulating online.

The agency also advised the public to report any fraudulent solicitations through the National Cyber Crime Helpline or the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and said NTA helplines would remain available for assistance.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.