Republic TV editor Arnab Goswami's nearly 1,000-page WhatsApp chats with Partho Dasgupta, former CEO of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), have been included in the Mumbai Crime Branch's chargesheet. In one of the chats, Goswami tells Dasgupta that he had confirmed information about India planning a cross-border strike on Pakistan in retaliation for the Pulwama terror attacks on CRPF troopers.
Many have demanded to probe how Goswami was privy to the information and who leaked such sensitive information to him.
The Maharashtra government is being questioned as to when an FIR will be filed against Arnab and Dasgupta under the privacy violation act. A senior official involved in the case has given important information to the NBT.
According to the official, the chat about Balakot is between the two media personalities. It discusses possible action to be taken by the Government of India in Balakot. This is a question of national security.
According to the law, the central government should file a complaint in this regard and the Mumbai police should file an FIR.However, the Union Home Ministry will decide whether the central government will fila a complaint, the official said.
In a memorandum submitted to Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, a Congress delegation led by spokespersons Sachin Sawant and Raju Waghmare said that the leakage of the purported social media chats conducted between Republic TV chief Arnab Goswami and ex-BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta undermined national security of the 'highest order'.