CBSE Teen Whistleblowers Sarthak & Nisarga Fact-Check IIT Kanpur Director Over Telegram Ban in Viral NEET-UG Debate

A technical debate has erupted online following the government's temporary block on Telegram ahead of the NEET-UG re-test. The controversy took a viral turn when teen whistleblowers Sarthak Sidhant and Nisarg, who previously made headlines during the CBSE OSM portal row, publicly challenged IIT Kanpur Director Manindra Agrawal over his claims about how the platform functions.

The Spark: IIT Kanpur Director Defends Feature Restrictions

The online debate began after Professor Manindra Agrawal posted messages defending the government's restriction and the National Testing Agency's (NTA) stance.

Agrawal argued that the primary threat on Telegram was not just the sharing of actual leaked papers, but its capability to spread highly realistic fake news. He claimed that Telegram featured a unique loophole allowing users to fake a leak "without leaving a trace." Specifically, he stated that the app allowed administrators to edit old posts and alter timestamps after an examination concluded, presenting them as proof that question papers were available beforehand.

The 'Meow Meow' Fact-Check

This technical assertion was immediately disputed by technology professionals, developers, and the two teen whistleblowers. Nisarga, a developer who was previously offered a role at IIT Kanpur, criticized both the technical reasoning and the effectiveness of the total block, arguing that Telegram's open-source codebase explicitly tracks edits and that its proxy infrastructure makes a total shutdown highly impractical.

When Agrawal suggested that Telegram edits could happen without any visible record, Nisarga responded, "sir, telegram shows it too," pointing to the platform's publicly verifiable code.

The exchange went viral when Sarthak Sidhant intervened to deliver a practical demonstration. Responding to the assertion that Telegram has a feature allowing the alteration of posts without reflecting the change, Sarthak shared a screenshot of a Telegram message reading "meow meow". The image clearly displayed an "edited" marker and an updated timestamp right next to the text.

When Agrawal followed up by asking if an administrator could upload a PDF on one day and secretly replace it later without showing a modification date, Sarthak provided a second screenshot. The new image demonstrated that replacing a document or PDF file also triggers the platform's public "edited" label.

"Fact-checking an IITK director with a 'meow meow' message," Sarthak posted online.

Broader Arguments on Platform Bans and Misinformation

The debate quickly expanded beyond the specific editing features into the logic of digital governance. Sarthak questioned the rationale of shutting down an entire communication medium because it contains elements of misinformation, pointing out that platforms like WhatsApp, X, and even the mainstream press frequently carry unverified claims. He argued that using panic as a metric to shut down platforms sets a precedent that risks muting open communication.

Other technology professionals and users joined the discussion to highlight broader systemic issues:

Alternative Platforms: Developers noted that individuals looking to distribute papers can easily pivot to Discord, Signal, Reddit, cloud servers, or WhatsApp. Agrawal later acknowledged that shutting down Telegram would not solve the root issue of actual paper leaks.

Historical Precedent: Users cited the 2024 UGC-NET exam cancellation, which was initially called off based on panic over a suspected Telegram paper leak, only for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe to later reveal the leak was an entirely fabricated hoax.

Collateral Impact: Entrepreneurs emphasised that a blanket ban severely disrupts legitimate developer communities, academic study groups, and startups that rely on Telegram's API for automated bots and daily business operations.

While the government and the NTA maintain that the temporary platform restriction and the feature freeze are necessary safety measures ahead of the re-test, the viral exchange highlights an ongoing disagreement between policymakers and technical professionals over how to properly manage exam security without disrupting digital infrastructure.

Read More: Telegram Moves High Court to Contest Temporary Ban