India’s government has ordered a complete block of Telegram until June 22 after investigators linked the messaging app to leaks of the NEET medical entrance exam. The National Testing Agency said channels titled “Paper Leaked NEET” were selling the paper before the May 3 test, prompting officials to shut the service for the re‑test scheduled on June 21.

Beyond the leak, the exam system has faced accusations of corruption from opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, fueling student protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The controversy stems from the Central Board of Secondary Education’s rollout of an on‑screen marking platform supplied by a disputed contractor, which produced mismatched score reports and allowed a hacker to claim access to the grading portal.

Critics, including the Internet Freedom Foundation, denounced the ban as a disproportionate “band‑aid” that punishes ordinary users without addressing the underlying leak mechanisms. With roughly 84 million Indian users on the platform, the shutdown disrupts daily communication and business while the exam authority scrambles to restore confidence in a system many now deem broken. The move also raises questions about digital censorship precedents.