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India·Technology

India temporarily bans Telegram ahead of medical entrance exam retest

Wednesday, 17 June 2026, 06:26 · 1 min read

India has temporarily blocked access to Telegram until 22 June, the day after a retest of the NEET-UG exam (the National Eligibility Entrance Test, India's highly competitive medical college entrance examination), citing the app's use by organised cheating networks to defraud candidates with false promises of leaked papers. The original NEET exam, taken by over 2.28 million candidates in May, was scrapped following widespread allegations of a question paper leak, prompting protests and a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry that has so far led to more than a dozen arrests, including the alleged ringleader. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov dismissed the ban as ineffective, saying leaks had simply moved to other apps, while digital rights group the Internet Freedom Foundation called the measure unconstitutional and disproportionate, warning it punishes the millions of students who rely on Telegram for legitimate exam preparation rather than addressing the systemic sources of fraud within the examination supply chain.

Sources
BBC WorldIndia temporarily bans Telegram over exam paper leak concerns ↗︎DawnIndia blocks Telegram before retest exam to curb cheating ↗︎
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