It is no secret that senior journalist Arnab Goswami and his Republic Media Network are being hounded relentlessly by the Maharashtra government, which is itself on a weak wicket, courtesy, the unholy alliance which the Uddhav Thackeray-led government is comprised of. Arnab Goswami, for the past few months, has mounted an all-out anti-Maha Vikas Aghadi campaign, owing to a multiplicity of issues. For the same, it has been stated by many that the law enforcement machinery of the state government has been unleashed upon the journalist and his media network. Now, in what comes as a disturbing revelation, the Goa Chronicle has reported that there might actually be a Pakistani and ISI-hand behind the constant targeting of Arnab Goswami and Republic Media Network.
The deadly mob-lynching of Hindu Sadhus and their companion in Palghar, the mysterious death of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput and the unsatisfactory Mumbai Police investigation into the same, supplemented by the fact that the present Maharashtra government proved to be an unmitigated disaster when it came to tackling the Covid-19 situation in the state are all issues which Arnab Goswami has picked up and aggressively reported on, in his signature aggressive style, of course.
The Goa Chronicle reported that two days ago, its sources, working in an international intelligence arm that focuses on South Asia terrorism and counter-terrorism revealed that a number: 0092306####310 has been in touch with key people in India and their focus discussion has been to work on plans to restrain Arnab Goswami and Republic Media Network. Further, to quote from the report itself, it stated, “The source also mentioned that this person could be in touch with someone in Mumbai police or in touch with someone influential in the media fraternity but could not affirmatively confirm (Goa Chronicle) who is the person receiving the calls from Pakistan.”
Upon further inquiry into the revelations, the publication learnt that the number belonged to an officer of the Special Services Group (SSG) of the Pakistan Army. The name by which the officer of SSG goes by is – Ishaq. The SSG is a special operations force of the terror state’s intelligence agency – ISI. For reasons best known to them, Pakistan likes to refer to the SSG as an ‘elite’ commando force. That SSG commandos, being the ‘elite’ force of Pakistan that they are, have involved themselves in covert operations against India and people like Arnab Goswami should not come as a surprise to anyone.
If reports of an SSG officer being in contact with someone from Mumbai Police and the media fraternity are indeed true, as reported by the Goa Chronicle, then it is an alarming situation for India’s security apparatus and it would be fair to say that the ISI is directly involved in the ongoing hounding of Republic Media Network and the specific targeting of Arnab Goswami by certain institutions and a section of media. In fact, the said report now puts the spotlight on all coercive steps which have been taken by various institutions to intimidate Arnab Goswami, and therefore beg the question: Is Arnab Goswami being hounded by certain individuals at the behest of Pakistan and ISI?