Arnab Goswami remanded to judicial custody; Lawyer approaches NHRC
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Raigad (Maharashtra) : A Raigad Magistrate has remanded Republic TV Managing Director and Editor in Chief Arnab Goswami to 14 days' judicial custody after a marathon five-hour hearing here late on Wednesday night.
The Chief Judicial Magistrate rejected the prosecution's plea for 14 days' police custody for Goswami, who was arrested from his residence early on Wednesday morning in a case concerningcon charges of abetment of suicide pertaining to the twin suicides of architect Anvay Naik and his mother Kumud Naik on May 5, 2018.
"The police have lost...," Goswami shouted out of a police van and displayed the V-sign after the court hearing.
Meanwhile Goswami's lawyer Siddharth Acharya has approached the National Human Rights Commission with a complaint that pointed out "mala fide" intentions behind the arrest coupled with a State-backed vendetta against Goswami for his "news reporting exposing infirmities and inefficiency of the State Government and Mumbai Police".
In his complaint Acharya claimed that Goswami was denied legal assistance and both he and his family were manhandled by the police. This was intended to send a message to other journalists and was "an attack on the Fourth Estate" stated the lawyer.
He also wrote to CJ S.A Bobde, urging him to take suo moto cognizance of the case.
In the original case registered in 2017, Anvay Naik alleged in his suicide note that he was owed large sums of money by Arnab Goswami, Feroz Shaikh of iCastX/Skimedia and Niteish Sarda of Smartworks. The ensuing financial difficulties are speculated to be the reason for his suicide.
The case was reopened in May of this year by the Maharashtra Home Minister at the behest of Anvay Naik's daughter.
Meanwhile another FIR has been registered against Goswami for assaulting a lady police officer during his arrest. The arrest was universally condemned by the Editor's Guild and senior BJP leaders and ministers such as Smriti Irani, Amit Shah and Prakash Javadekar.
(With inputs from Anjana Nair)