Arnab Goswami had the classified info of Balakot strikes 3 days ahead, reveal leaked WhatsApp chats

MUMBAI: Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami had knowledge of the Balakot air strikes three days ahead.

This has been revealed in a leaked WhatsApp chat between Goswami and former chief executive officer of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) Partho Dasgupta. The leaked chat between the two is stated to be submitted by Mumbai Police in a 3400-page supplementary chargesheet vis-à-vis the Television Ratings Point scam investigation. Goswami, who was arrested in this connection and is out on bail, is being investigated in the case.

The TRP scam, an operation to manipulate television ratings, was exposed in October when the BARC filed a complaint through Hansa Research Group, one of BARC’s vendors, accusing some channels of rigging their ratings by bribing some households to watch their programmes.

Fifteen people, including Republic TV chief executive officer Vikas Khanchandani and Dasgupta, have so far been arrested in the case.

Box Cinema and Marathi channel Fakt Marathi were the other channels named during the preliminary investigation.

“Bigger than a normal strike …,” is what Goswami told Dasgupta in the purported WhatsApp chat on February 23, 2019. And three days later Indian Air Force carried out a strike targeting a Jaish-e-Mohammad training camp in Pakistani’s Balakot on February 26, 2019.

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The attack was billed as India’s retaliation to the Pulwama attack in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed after an explosive-laden car, driven by a suicide bomber, rammed into their bus on February 14, 2019.

According to the chat transcript Goswami purportedly texted Dasgupta: “On another note something big will happen”.

Dasgupta asked, “Dawood?”

Goswami: “No sir Pakistan. Something major will be done this time.”

Dasgupta: “Good.”

Dasgupta: “It’s good for big man in this season.”

Dasgupta: “He will sweep polls then.”

Dasgupta: “Strike? Or bigger”

Goswami: “Bigger than a normal strike. And also on the same time something major on Kashmir. On Pakistan the government is confident of striking in a way that people will be elated. Exact words used.”

The purported chats also reveal Goswami’s purported proximity to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as well as the information and broadcasting ministry. They include Dasgupta requesting Goswami to get him a job the “media advisor’s” job in the PMO.

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Further, the purported chats have instances such as the former television ratings agency chief asking Goswami if he could stall the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) move to make BARC’s viewing data public. Goswami assures that he could do what Dasgupta asked for.

The chats also reveal that Dasgupta had passed on a confidential document of BARC to Goswami.

Dasgupta has been hospitalised in a Mumbai hospital early Saturday.

Dasgupta is stated to be suffering from diabetes and was rushed to the hospital from Taloja Central Prison in Navi Mumbai after his blood sugar levels spiked last night. He is currently stated to be on oxygen support in the Intensive Care Unit.

Leading advocate Prashant Bhushan has taken to Twitter to allege that the chats “show many conspiracies & unprecedented access to power in this” government.