The arrest of Republic TV editor in-chief Arnab Goswami by the Mumbai Police early on Wednesday morning has created a furore. Arnab was arrested over a 2018 abetment of suicide case.
Arnab is being taken to a police station in Raigad district.
Republic TV uploaded a clip of Arnab speaking as he was on board a police van. Arnab said, "They [Mumbai Police] have beaten me, they have assaulted me... they did not let me meet my family. They beat up my son".
Arnab Goswami's wife, Sayambrata Ray Goswami, said "at about 8am, about 10 policemen barged into their house". She said an "encounter cop" was among the police team members. She claimed the police pushed Arnab by the hair. Sayambrata is also a senior executive of Republic TV.
BJP reactions
BJP leaders have lashed out at the arrest of Arnab Goswami. Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP's IT cell, tweeted, "Maharashtra government’s high handedness is appalling. Their assault on Arnab Goswami and Republic is an act of vengeance because they questioned Sonia Gandhi’s silence on Palghar. If you didn’t know what Emergency looked like, Congress has rolled it out again! Sena-NCP complicit."
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar condemned the arrest of Arnab Goswami. Javadekar tweeted, "We condemn the attack on press freedom in #Maharashtra. This is not the way to treat the Press. This reminds us of the emergency days when the press was treated like this."
Union Minister Smriti Irani tweeted, “Those in the free press who don’t stand up today in support of Arnab, you are now tactically in support of fascism. You may not like him, you may not approve of him,you may despise his very existence but if you stay silent you support suppression. Who speaks if you are next ?”
Actor Kangana Ranaut, a critic of the Maharashtra government, criticised Arnab Goswami's arrest. She was quoted by Republic TV as saying, "You have beaten and assaulted Arnab Goswami. How many houses will you break, how many necks will you choke, how many will you silence?"
Case against him
The abetment to suicide case against Arnab Goswami relates to the suicides of an interior designer and his mother.
Arnab Goswami and two others were booked by the Alibaug Police in May 2018 for allegedly abetting the suicide of 53-year-old interior designer Anvay Naik and his mother. Anvay Naik was the managing director of Concorde Designs Private Limited. In a suicide note, Anvay Naik claimed Goswami and the other two persons—Feroz Shaikh and Niteish Sarda—owed him a total of Rs 5.4 crore. The Times of India had then reported Arnab Goswami had allegedly not paid Rs 83 lakh for a design project of a studio.
Republic TV had then dismissed the charges as the work of vested interests and declared it had paid all dues for the design contract.
Earlier this year, the state Congress unit shared a video clip of Anvay Naik's wife seeking justice over his death. The party called for a probe over the incident.