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oi-Ashish Rana
The Centre’s decision to temporarily restrict access to Telegram ahead of the NEET-UG re-test on June 21 has sparked a sharp public debate, drawing in two student whistleblowers who previously gained national attention during the CBSE On-Screen Marking (OSM) controversy. Cybersecurity researcher Nisarga Adhikary and Class 12 student Sarthak Sidhant have questioned the rationale behind the move, leading to an exchange with IIT Kanpur Director Manindra Agrawal on social media.
Ahead of the NEET-UG re-test on June 21, the Centre restricted Telegram access until June 22 over misinformation concerns, sparking a debate between whistleblowers Nisarga Adhikary and Sarthak Sidhant, and IIT Kanpur Director Manindra Agrawal regarding its effectiveness.
Restriction Linked to NEET-UG Re-Test Preparations
The government imposed restrictions on Telegram until June 22, citing concerns over fake paper leak claims and the spread of examination-related misinformation ahead of the NEET-UG re-test.
Reacting to the decision, Adhikary criticised the move on X, writing, “Can’t stop paper leaks, ends up blocking Telegram.”
He argued that restricting the platform would not effectively prevent users from accessing it, adding that alternative methods remained available. “Blocking Telegram totally isn’t even possible,” he wrote.
> cant stop paper leaks
> ends up blocking telegramblocking telegram totally isnt even possible, telegram is designed in such a way which easily allows people to use proxies and other methods of circumvention. https://t.co/kv0VliWGrC
— nisarga (@ni5arga) June 16, 2026
IIT Kanpur Director Defends Government’s Move
Joining the discussion, IIT Kanpur Director Manindra Agrawal defended the restrictions, saying the primary concern was not the sharing of leaked examination papers but the rapid circulation of fabricated leak claims that appear genuine.
“The problem with Telegram channel is not sharing of leaked paper, there are many other ways of doing it, rather that it can be used to spread fake news of leak that appears genuine. It was done by someone during JEE Advanced. It causes unnecessary confusion,” Agrawal wrote on X.
The conversation later shifted to comparisons with other messaging platforms. When asked why similar concerns did not apply to WhatsApp, Agrawal responded, “If you change a post in WhatsApp, it shows when you edited it. So that is not a problem.”
Adhikary Counters Claims About Telegram’s Edit Feature
Adhikary challenged that explanation, stating that Telegram also notifies users when messages are edited.
“Sir, Telegram shows it too,” he replied, referring to publicly available information regarding Telegram’s edit indicators.
The discussion continued as Agrawal maintained that Telegram includes features that could potentially be exploited to make edited content appear more authentic, keeping the debate active among users discussing examination security and misinformation.
Sarthak Sidhant Enters Debate With Fact Check
The exchange gained further attention when Sarthak Sidhant joined the discussion and questioned whether the existence of misinformation on a platform justified restricting access to it.
“Just because a communication medium has elements of misinformation, we have decided to shut it down?” he wrote.
Drawing a comparison with other social media platforms, Sidhant added, “Twitter par bhi misinformation fail rahi hai (Misinformation is spreading on Twitter as well), let’s shut down Twitter.”
He also challenged Agrawal’s claim regarding Telegram’s editing system by sharing a screenshot of an edited Telegram message that displayed an edit marker. Accompanying the image, Sidhant wrote, “fact checking IITK director with a ‘meow meow’ message”.
Whistleblowers Return to Public Spotlight
The latest debate has attracted attention because both Adhikary and Sidhant were already well-known for their roles in the CBSE OSM controversy earlier this year.
Adhikary came into the national spotlight after identifying and reporting vulnerabilities within systems connected to CBSE’s digital evaluation infrastructure. His findings triggered wider scrutiny of the platform and prompted cybersecurity reviews involving experts from IIT Kanpur and IIT Madras.
With the NEET-UG re-test approaching, the Telegram restriction and the subsequent online exchange have reignited discussions around misinformation, digital platforms, examination security, and the balance between regulation and accessibility.
