Can Arnab be arrested under Official Secrets Act? Uddhav govt seeking legal opinion

Home minister Anil Deshmukh said they have taken a serious note of Arnab Goswami's WhatsApp chat on the classified military information.
Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami
Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has decided to seek legal opinion whether Republic TV owner and editor-in-chief can be charged under Official Secrets Act for his revelations about the Balakot airstrike three days in advance through his purported WhatsApp chat with BARC former-CEO Partho Dasgupta.

Maharashtra Home minister Anil Deshmukh said they have taken a serious note of Arnab Goswami's WhatsApp chat on the classified military information. "We have decided to seek the legal and senior officials' opinion whether Arnab Goswami can be charged and arrested under the Official Secrets Act for sharing the classified military information.

"We cannot comprise our security services. We have to find out with whom he had shared this information three days before the Balakot airstrike by the Indian Air force. Besides, we need to find out who had provided this crucial information and whether this information was limited to Arnab and Partho Dasgupta," Deshmukh said.

Deshmukh further said that the Mumbai Police is probing the TRP scam and as a part of that this the WhatsApp chat between Arnab Goswami and Partho Dasgupta came out. "We will do whatever is possible as a state government in this case. The security of the state and nation is of utmost importance for us," Deshmukh added.

Earlier in the day, the Maharashtra Congress delegation met the Home minister Anil Deshmukh demanding the arrest of Arnab Goswami. Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said that the WhatsApp chat between Goswami and Dasgupta has brought out some serious revelations. 

"Arnab Goswami was aware of the Balakot airstrike three days before the incident. The conversation between Goswami and Dasgupta is being discussed in the mainstream and social media. Questions are raised about how Goswami got this highly confidential and sensitive information. This amounts to treason and Goswami should be arrested immediately," demanded Sachin Sawant.

The Congress leader further said that Arnab Goswami himself admitted that the source of his information was "a big person in the Modi government". 

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