IGNOU ordered regional centers to tighten exam security following learner complaints about Telegram channels selling alleged question papers for ₹199
The university has filed a police complaint but clarified that no exams are canceled, as there is currently no evidence of an actual paper leak
The incident adds to the growing scrutiny surrounding Telegram, which was recently blocked temporarily in India over NEET paper leak controversy
Indira Gandhi National Open University’s (IGNOU) student evaluation division has received complaints from learners about people claiming to possess leaked question papers for some of the subjects in the ongoing June-July 2026 term-end examinations. The complaints also note that these papers were being sold online for ₹199 per paper.
Following this, IGNOU has asked its regional directors to tighten examination security at their respective centres in a communication dated June 4. The communication also included screenshots of chats with papers being allegedly shared and sold.
According to a Times of India report, the email read, “The official has received an email dated June 3 from IGNOU learners. The mail raises a serious concern regarding widespread claims circulating on the Telegram channel, wherein certain individuals are allegedly charging money and promising question papers. In order to avoid such complaints, you are requested to direct your examination centre superintendents to follow the instructions carefully.”
The learner’s complaint mentioned that question papers for macroeconomics analysis and other subjects could be obtained through a Telegram channel. The channel claimed access to question papers up to two hours before the exam, offered solutions where possible and told recipients to not share the papers further.
No Evidence of Actual Leak, Says University
IGNOU said that the complaint was immediately referred to the police but no exam has been cancelled since there’s no evidence of an actual leak.
The university said, “As of date, no information regarding any alleged question paper leakage has been received from any regional centre, examination centre, or any other reliable source. Therefore, there is no evidence at present to substantiate the claim of a question paper leak; hence, constituting an inquiry committee does not arise.”
Security Tightened After Previous Lapse
Centres have been told to deploy observers, restrict mobile phone usage by staff and prohibit access by unauthorised personnel to strengthen security, faculty members say. Further, centre superintendents have been ordered to keep the confidential question papers in their personal custody, they added.
This ordeal follows a previous lapse. On June 9, the university told centres to not use the question paper sent for the master’s examination after the session had already begun at 10 am. They were instructed to instead download and use the “correct paper” from the portal.
Teachers allege that some centres might have used the wrong paper before the change was communicated to them. But IGNOU claims that all 200 centres which had received the incorrect paper, discarded and replaced it before the examination was conducted, thus no centre used the wrong paper for the exam.
These complaints come at a time when Telegram is already under heightened scrutiny due to its alleged role in leaking papers in the ongoing NEET-UG 2026 controversy. On June 16, India’s IT ministry also temporarily blocked access to the Telegram app across the nation over the allegations, until June 22, 2026, a day after the NEET-UG re-examination.
