Arnab Goswami Arrested in Mumbai
Arnab Goswami was arrested from his residence in Mumbai today for allegedly abetting the suicide of a 53-year-old interior designer.
Arnab Goswami was arrested from his residence in Mumbai today for allegedly abetting the suicide of a 53-year-old interior designer Anvay Naik and his mother in 2018. Alibaug Police were responsible for the arrest. Everything was kept top secret. When they reached Arnab’s home in Worli, Goswami and his wife didn’t open the door for an hour. When his wife opened the door, she immediately started recording the police. The police gave her the notice for Arnab’s arrest and his wife tore the papers. The police had to forcefully arrest him and put him in the police van. Arnab Goswami, who was seen being pushed into a police van, claimed he was assaulted by police at his home. The man who had committed suicide was Anvay Naik was the managing director of architect firm Concord Design Private Limited. He had built Republic TV’s studio. Republic TV had to pay him Rs 83 lakh. Plus 2 other companies had to pay Naik. The three companies owed Naik a total of Rs 5.40 crore.
Naik and his mother were found dead at their farmhouse in Kavir Village in Alibaug. The police found a suicide note which said they had committed suicide because the owners of the 3 companies failed to clear the payment. Naik’s wife filed a complaint against Arnab. Police investigations revealed that Naik's mother died of strangulation. The police suspect Naik first strangled his mother then committed suicide. 1 year later in 2019 the police closed the case because there was no proof against Arnab. In May 2020, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh received a request from Naik’s daughter to open the case. He then ordered the CID to take over the case. Republic TV then said they had paid the entire amount to naik and it was a fake case against them. The Maharashtra Police will now be questioning Goswami and ask him to provide evidence to back his claims that he had made the payments due to Anvay. Depending on the investigation they will decide to either close the case or file a complaint against him.
Currently there are many cases filed against Republic TV. FIRs have been filed about the TRP scam case, communalizing the Palghar lynching on their news channel, etc. BJP president JP Nadda and various senior Union ministers, including Amit Shah have said the Maharashtra Government was wrong to arrest Arnab Goswami. BJP leaders have criticized the Congress over Arnab Goswami's arrest and called it an "attack on freedom of the press". The Congress is part of the Shiv Sena-led coalition government in Maharashtra. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said she was actually very shocked with the "selective outrage" of the BJP of the sections of the government.
