A day after former BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta was admitted to JJ Hospital by Taloja jail officials presumably in a very critical condition, the wife of Dasgupta has registered a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) alleging custodial torture against her husband by the Maharashtra police to falsely implicate Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami.
In a letter to NHRC, Samrajni Dasgupta, wife of Partho Dasgupta, has mentioned that her husband was admitted to JJ Hospital by Taloja officials presumably and is in a very critical condition. She said that Dasgupta was brought to the hospital at 1 pm on January 15 with a high blood sugar condition, in an unconscious state unable to respond to voice commands.
“It was only after he regained consciousness that could he share my number with the attending Navi Mumbai police officer. I was informed at 3.20 am on 16th January about his critical condition. When we reached the hospital, we found him critical in the emergency ward. He was without any pillow or sheet either on the bed or to cover him. He told us that he has not been given anything to eat since Jan 15th. All he could tell us was that he was mercilessly beaten up even in Taloja Jail,” Samrajni Dasgupta narrated.
The wife of the former BARC CEO also alleged that someone was paid to beat her husband in jail to falsely admit that he had taken money from Republic TV in the TRP scam case. In her letter, Samrajni said that Partho has been mentally harassed all these days at the Taloja Jail as well.
“He was shifted to the ICU only at 6.30/7 am. Since then we have not been able to see him or talk to him. The doctors at JJ refused to share any report of the tests conducted and medication given,” Samrajni narrated her ordeal in the letter.
Accusing the Maharashtra government of torturing her husband, Samrajni Dasgupta in her complaint has stated that the treatment meted out to her husband was violative of his fundamental right as he deserves proper treatment. Secondly, she stated that the family needs to be told what treatment is been given
“My daughter has been constantly sending emails to the Taloja Jail requesting a call with her father, which is a right the accused has as per rules of the Jail, in which she has always shared her phone number. Even at 6 pm on 15th January, when she sent an email to the Jail, we were not informed of his condition. Why is his family being kept in the dark despite the authorities having ALL access to the family?” she asked.
Concluding her letter, Samrajni Dasgupta asked why are they being harassed in spite of cooperating at every step from the very beginning. We have not objected to the legal whatever steps it deems fit, so why is his fundamental right being denied. We want Partho safe. He should not be harmed and made to give a false statement to satisfy people’s vested interests, she wrote in a complaint letter to NHRC.
Mumbai Police and its city crime branch had arrested Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC)’s former CEO Partho Dasgupta on the 25th of December 2020 in connection with the fake TRP scam. It is being alleged that the former BARC CEO has been allegedly tortured to give false statements against Arnab Goswami to implicate him in the case.
Daughter writer a letter to Prime Minister seeking his intervention to save her father’s life
Earlier, Pratyusha Dasgupta, the daughter of former BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta, had appealed to Prime Minister Modi to save her father’s life. She said that Mr. Dasgupta was admitted to the hospital on the 15th of January in an unconscious state. He is currently in judicial custody over the TRP scam. She said that she got a call at 3:00 AM and immediately, they rushed to JJ Hospital.
Pratyusha and her mother found Mr. Dasgupta lying in the emergency room with not even a bed-sheet covering him. There, he was incoherent and unable to express himself properly. His blood sugar levels had shot to alarming levels, 516 to be precise, she said. She adds that Mr. Dasgupta suffers “from a number of serious ailments for many years, including diabetes, hypertension, and ankylosing spondylitis, an autoimmune disorder.”
She concludes her message to Prime Minister Modi saying, “My plea to you, sir, is to please save my father’s life by allowing proper medical treatment in a reputed hospital at our expense. Without intervention at the highest levels, I am now fearful for his life.”
OpIndia reached out to the family of Mr. Partho Dasgupta to understand what really happened and the extent of the alleged physical and mental torture suffered by Mr. Patho Dasgupta.
Alarmingly, OpIndia was told by the family that Mr. Dasgupta was in a critical condition since the afternoon of 15th January 2021 and was taken to JJ Hospital. However, the Taloja Jail officials did not give any information about him to the Navi Mumbai Police and hence, the family was not contacted about his condition for almost 15 hours. Afternoon, when Mr. Dasgupta was taken to JJ Hospital, a bail hearing was underway at the sessions court where his daughter and wife both were present.
Speaking to OpIndia, Pratyusha questioned why the authorities did not inform the family for so long while Dasgupta was unconscious in the hospital. She suspects that the authorities hid information about his critical health at the time because his health condition would be a valid ground for bail and the police did not want the information to be revealed during the hearing itself.
Breaking down, Pratyusha narrated the abysmal condition in which her father was found. She said that when they finally reached the hospital in the wee hours of the morning on the 16th, her father had no blanket over him and was semi-conscious. Further, he did not even have a pillow only making worse his spondylitis issue.
She said that while in the hospital, the staff asked them why they did not reach the hospital earlier, since he was admitted in critical condition, with his sugar level over 500, in the afternoon on 15th itself. On being asked, the authorities said that they could not get in touch with the family since they did not have their contact numbers.
Family of ex-BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta file petition in Bombay High Court
Samrajni Dasgupta has now filed a petition in the Bombay High Court detailing the mental and physical torture being suffered by Partho and his critical health condition.
In the affidavit, she says that when she reached the hospital, there was “blood all over the stretcher” in which Partho was made to lie down and he was breathless with ice-cold feet. She said that even the doctors ignored her request to give him urgent medical attention. She further says in the affidavit that it was only after a hue and cry was created was Partho taken to the ICU at 6:30 AM on 16th, while he was at the hospital since the afternoon of 15th January. She claims that she has still not been informed about his prognosis or health status thereafter.
Saying that his life is in real and imminent danger, she urges the courts for immediate medical attention to Partho Dasgupta, her husband. She says that since the doctors at PD Hinduja Hospital are aware of his ailments if he is not shifted to the hospital, she “fears he may lose his life”. She ends the prayer by saying that his present medical condition is due to the continuous physical and mental abuse he has been subjected to in Taloja jail.
Fake TRP scam
In October, Mumbai Police had made some sensational claims against some TV channels saying that they were manipulating TRP ratings. In a press conference, the Mumbai Police commissioner had said that three TV channels, including Republic TV, were involved in manipulating viewership data of BARC by paying those households where Bar-o-meters, the devices that track TV viewership, are installed.
The police had specifically mentioned that Hansa Research had filed a complaint with the police. Hansa Group is an organisation that regulated the devices to record TRP for BARC. Interestingly, in this FIR that was filed by Hansa Research, Republic TV was not mentioned even once. The channel that was mentioned several times was India Today.
During the investigation, several evidence and witnesses came forward that alleged Mumbai Police have been intimidating them to speak against Republic TV, including Hansa officials. Hansa has also complained that they are being harassed by the Mumbai Police to give statements against Republic TV.
