Republic TV Chief Editor Arnab Goswami
Mumbai Police have taken Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami into custody in a 2018 suicide-abetment case. The dramatic twist of events comes shortly after Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh called Arnab the "biggest hawala operator" in the nation regarding the TRP scam case, which Republic is also being investigated for.
The latest reports say that Goswami has been taken to Raigad police station by a cavalcade of police officers. Republic TV alleges that police manhandled both Arnab and his teenage son when the arrest was made. They also claim that Republic TV executive editor Niranjan Narayanaswamy and Sanjay Pathak were prevented by police from entering the house.
The suicide-abetment case of Anvay Naik and his mother Kumud Naik was filed in 2018 after a suicide note left by Naik alleged that Republic TV owed him over 5 crores leading to financial difficulties. The case was reopened on May 26 by Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh after a request was made by Anvay's daughter Adnay Naik. A CID investigation was ordered.
In an official statement, Arnab Goswami has termed this latest series of events as an "absurdity and the planting of falsehoods" designed as part of a witch hunt against the channel.
"The multiple u-turns of the Mumbai Police show that it is floundering as the fake case has collapsed. The Mumbai Police has tried to blackmail and coerce random people into naming Republic. The CBI now has a copy of the tape of their witness coercion...I am absolutely certain that we will get justice from the courts," said Goswami.
The Mumbai Police has already filed a case against the editorial team of Republic for allegedly creating disaffection amongst the police. The officials have repeatedly questioned Arnab Goswami and major members of Republic TV in the TRP scam case, in which several channels like India Today, Fakht Marathi and Maha Movies were accused of paying money to rig TRP points in favour of their channels.