Amidst the controversy surrounding the firm resolve of the Central government to hold competitive exams such as JEE and NEET, netizens woke up to a shocker on Saturday morning. A Twitter account (@HIGHOnN20) had shared a tweet narrating about the ordeal of writing the JEE exam at a time when his father had supposedly been infected with the Wuhan Coronavirus.
The tweet read, “Today my father has been tested positive for Corona, my jee exam is on 03/09/2020 and I have no idea how I am going to give exam in such condition. Maybe I have to stay in quarantine. I beg all Minister please please postpone exam.”
The user had uploaded the test results that supposedly belonged to his father. The tweet, which now stands deleted, had 2403 likes and 3,118 replies and retweets.
Netizens question Pakistani link with JEE-NEET controversy
However, a closer look at the test report by the ‘Punjab Forensic Science Agency’ shows that the address of the patient reads, ‘Lahore’. Besides, the date of the test result is clearly mentioned as April 17, 2020. As such, the claim that the Twitter user’s father recently fell ill can be ruled out.
If one is to assume that the information provided by the Twitter user is correct, it raises an important question – How can a student from Pakistan write the JEE exam? Or is a ploy of Pakistani security forces to take advantage of a raging controversy to destabilise the country?
Dubious credentials of the Twitter account
The said Twitter account (@HIGHOnN20) had 6 followers and was created in April 2020. After the tweet went viral, social media was rife with speculations of Pakistani interference in India’s internal affairs.
Coronavirus test report belongs to extradited Pakistani national
A simple Google reverse image search revealed the source of the said Coronavirus test report. On April 17, journalist, Aditya Raj Kaul, had tweeted images of test reports of two Pakistani citizens who were extradited from India via Attari border on a formal request from Pakistani authorities. The two Pakistani nationals were among 41 people who were extradited from India to Pakistan.
#BREAKING: Two Pakistani nationals out of the 41 who were recently repatriated back from India on formal request from Pakistan via Attari border have tested positive for #COVID19 today. Reports by Punjab Forensic Science Agency in Lahore. pic.twitter.com/SpW0owRsif
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) April 17, 2020
The Twitter user (@HIGHOnN20) had used the Coronavirus test report belonging to extradited Pakistani nationals and tried to pass it off as his father. The sentiment against conducting JEE and NEET exams had gained traction so much so that people shared the tweet without verifying the facts of the case. While a Pakistan-based testing agency indeed prepared the test report for a Pakistani national, it is unclear whether the said Twitter user is a Pakistani.
Congress IT cell resorts to fear mongering
Having said that, several fake accounts have come to light in recent times, following the controversy surrounding the JEE and NEET exams. Earlier, fake videos and pictures of students allegedly traumatised and distressed by the government’s decision to continue with the examinations are being shared by the members of the Congress IT cell.
A Twitter user who went by the handle @AnanyaS06358832, with the date of joining Twitter in August 2020, shared an image of a slit wrist to allude that she is committing suicide against the government’s decision to persist with the examinations as per schedule. However, on reverse searching the image, one finds that the picture has been on the Internet since aeons and it has been shared multiple times on Twitter itself. When several Twitter users pointed out that the image has been lifted from Google, the Twitter user promptly deleted the tweet.
