When Arnab Goswami 'bluffed' about being attacked during 2002 riots

Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami is always on the news. But this time it was different. Clad in a white shirt, Goswami was seen in a video alleging his car was attacked by Youth Congress workers when he was returning home past midnight on Thursday (April 23).

As claims and counterclaims regarding the alleged attack overtook the Indian internet platforms soon after Republic TV ‘broke’ the ‘news’, an old article by fact-checking website AltNews about the popular prime time television anchor started doing rounds on social media and as WhatsApp forwards.

The article titled “Did Arnab Goswami bluff about his car being attacked during 2002 riots?” sought to debunk a claim allegedly made by Goswami about his car being attacked during the 2002 riots in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad. Published on September 20, 2017, the article was written by AltNews co-founder Pratik Sinha.

Related news: Arnab Goswami says his car was attacked, blames Young Congress, Sonia

The article was written after a video of Goswami started doing rounds on social media where he was purportedly heard talking about his experience when he was covering the 2002 riots in Gujarat. In the video, he claimed his car was attacked during the riots and that it happened only 50 m away from the chief minister’s residence.

Wow! My friend Arnab claims his car attacked next to CM Res in Guj riots! Truth:he wasn't covering Ahmedabad riots!! https://t.co/xOe7zY8rCp

— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) September 19, 2017

Yes, incident which Arnab speaks of did happen. Only he wasn't there, some of us who actually were on ground zero were! (Read my 2014 book)?

— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) September 19, 2017

Quoting several senior journalists, including Rajdeep Sardesai, the article said the incident that Goswami narrated was true, but that he himself was not present at the spot, or precisely in the car, as he was heard claiming in the video. Sardesai claimed Goswami wasn’t even covering Ahmedabad riots that time.

“Wow! My friend Arnab claims his car attacked next to CM Res in Guj riots! Truth: he wasn’t covering Ahmedabad riots!!… Yes, incident which Arnab speaks of did happen. Only he wasn’t there, some of us who actually were on ground zero were! (Read my 2014 book) (sic),” he said in a couple of tweets.

Thank you Sanjeev. Since you were @ndtv correspondent in Ahmedabad at the time for setting the record straight also. https://t.co/Th4q7fOoWG

— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) September 19, 2017

Reconfirmed by another of our correspondents on the ground. Time to set the record straight and call out impostors. https://t.co/TKvaPKvuhx

— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) September 19, 2017

Several other journalists like Sanjeev Singh and Nalin Mehta too termed as false Goswami’s claim, and said it was Sardesai who was there during the incident. Singh told AltNews the incident happened when a crew of five, including Sardesai, were leaving the chief minister’s residence after recording an interview. He said Goswami had arrived later and he was deputed to Kheda district in Gujarat.

Related video: Arnab Goswami speaks to The Federal at South India Media Summit