NTA, IIT Madras Director Explain Telegram Restriction Ahead of NEET Re-Exam

The National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras Director on Tuesday justified the temporary restriction on Telegram ahead of the re-NEET 2026 examination, citing instances where the platform was allegedly used to fabricate evidence of question paper leaks through edited messages carrying old timestamps.

Explaining the rationale behind the restrictions on Telegram, NTA Director General Abhishek Singh said the step was taken to safeguard the integrity of the re-NEET examination.

"The primary reason for cancelling the exam and ordering a re-exam and CBI inquiry was to ensure that nobody violates the sanctity, the integrity of the NTA examination, the NEET examinations, and nobody should be able to take away the rights of hard-working students," Singh said in a video message on X.

According to Singh, one of the major concerns was the misuse of Telegram channels claiming to sell question papers. "Social media is flooded with such stories about Telegram channels claiming to sell re-examination papers. We have verified every claim and what we have found is that they are all fake," he said. "None of them has access to the actual papers," he added.

He warned candidates that those behind such channels exploit students and parents by taking money on false promises. "Anyone claiming to sell you any paper is lying, scamming and fooling you...," he said.

Singh also alleged that Telegram channels use message-editing features to create a false impression that question papers were available before the examination. According to him, the probe found that Telegram allows channel administrators to edit previously posted messages while retaining the original timestamp.

Explaining the issue, IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti said Telegram allows users to edit messages without altering the original timestamp. "The Telegram platform has a vulnerability. You can send a message today at 3 pm and you can edit the message tomorrow or some other day later without changing the timestamp. So, for people who look at the message tomorrow or later, it will look as if he had sent the message at 3 pm today," Kamakoti said.

"Using this vulnerability, there's been an attempt in the past too," he said. Kamakoti said similar instances had been observed in other competitive examinations. "There's been an attempt in the past to create confusion and panic among candidates who appeared for multiple competitive examinations. At least two instances, to the best of my knowledge - one in the case of JEE Advanced and another in the case of IISER Aptitude Test," he said.

Kamakoti also demonstrated the Telegram trick live. A student sends "pdf1.pdf" at 3:39 PM. A minute later, the message is edited and the file is silently replaced with "pdf2.pdf". The timestamp still reads 3:39 PM and nothing indicates that anything changed.

He acknowledged the burden on candidates who have been asked to appear again. "This is a big hardship for the students who had to appear at the exam again. We fully understand that and that's why we are not leaving any stone unturned for ensuring that examinations are conducted in a safe, secure, trustworthy manner," he said.

The NTA is set to conduct the NEET UG 2026 re-exam on June 2. The testing agency has assured all NEET aspirants in a social media post today that extensive arrangements are in place for a safe, secure and fair examination, in close coordination with relevant ministries, state governments and security agencies.