Indian TV anchor Arnab Goswami 'discussed planned Pakistan air strike on WhatsApp'

Questions raised about national security after transcripts indicate the journalist had advance knowledge of attack

Indian TV journalist Arnab Goswami is known for his combative interview style. Getty Images

An influential Indian television news anchor's leaked WhatsApp conversation has sparked outrage after it was claimed that he compromised India's security by discussing a planned aerial strike on Pakistan in February 2019.

Arnab Goswami, a firebrand right-wing anchor considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party, is accused of rigging television rating points to attract more advertisers and revenue.

The WhatsApp conversations between Mr Goswami and Partho Dasgupta, then head of industry body Broadcast Audience Research Council, are part of a 3,500-page charge sheet filed by police in Mumbai that accuses the TV personality of using his clout to break television viewership rules.

Mr Goswami, 47, known for his inflammatory and partisan news shows, has not commented.

The topics of the WhatsApp conversations run from cutting remarks about Bollywood actors to boasts about having direct access to Mr Modi's office and the prime minister's top aide, Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah.

New Delhi launched an aerial strike on an alleged militant hideout in Pakistan on February 26, 2019. .

Three days before it happened, Mr Goswami allegedly informed Mr Dasgupta by WhatsApp that Mr Modi's government was planning a "bigger than normal strike" on Pakistan.

"On Pakistan, the government is confident of striking in a way that people will be elated. Exact words used," Mr Goswami is alleged to have written, apparently quoting an anonymous top official.

The Pakistan strike was in retaliation for a deadly suicide bombing in Kashmir. In a prior chat, Mr Goswami is alleged to have told Mr Dasgupta that his channel won the coverage of the bombing, that killed 40 Indian soldiers, "like crazy", referring to the race for ratings.

Pakistan’s foreign office on Sunday said the leaked chats vindicated Islamabad's stand that the air strike on its territory was a "false flag operation" by Mr Modi's government to “stoke hyper-nationalism in its bid to win elections”.

India's main opposition Congress party and former military officers have demanded an investigation into whether the government was sharing military secrets.

“Did a journalist (and his friend) know about the retaliatory strike on Balakot camp three days before the actual strike?” P Chindambaram, a senior Congress leader and a former home minister, tweeted.

The government has not responded to the leaks.

Mumbai police said the chats were retrieved from Mr Dasgupta's mobile phone after he was arrested in December.

Mr Goswami was arrested and bailed by Mumbai police in November last year over the suicide of an architect to whom his television company allegedly owed large sums of money.