Mumbai: The Maharashtra Police’s Raigad unit on Wednesday morning raided the home of Republic TV owner and arrested its Chief Editor Arnab Goswami in an abetment to suicide case.
Arnab Goswami arrested, confirms police
A senior police officer Sachin Vaze said that Goswami was arrested in the abetment to suicide case of 2018, which had been closed earlier and has now been reopened.
A police team swooped on the Republic TV’s chief and picked him up from his home even as his family protested while his colleagues started rushing to the spot for live coverage.
Republic TV slams the move
The channel strongly slammed the move for “parading the editor of a top Indian news channel like a criminal, pulled by the hair, threatened, not allowed to drink water” after 20-30 policemen barged there.
Speaking from one of the vehicles, Goswami said he was assaulted, even as his shaken colleagues made direct emotional appeals to Supreme Court and High Court judges “seeking justice” for what was happening right in the middle of Mumbai, in a telecast of the developments.
Goswami managed to speak from a police van that he was assaulted, his son was beaten and his in-laws were pushed aside, and he was likely to be taken to Alibaug in Raigad.
Earlier cases
Goswami had earlier been booked in two cases related to his alleged provocative remarks and defaming Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi in a television debate on Palghar mob lynching incident and Bandra station crowding incident report at NM Joshi Marg police station and Pydhonie police station respectively.
The two cases were registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including provocation with intent to cause riots, defamation, statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes, criminal intimidation, and criminal conspiracy.
On June 30, the Bombay High Court stayed two FIRs registered against Goswami.
The Supreme Court, on October 26, adjourned for two weeks the hearing on an appeal filed by the Maharashtra government challenging the Bombay High Court order, which stayed the investigation against Arnab Goswami in connection with his alleged comments on his show over the Palghar lynching case.
In April this year, Goswami and his wife Samyabrata Ray were allegedly attacked when they were driving back home from the Republic TV Headquarters in Worli.