NAGPUR, Maharashtra: Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami ’s arrest on Wednesday morning in a 2018 abetment to suicide case took place after a court gave permission for a reinvestigation into the incident earlier this year, two Maharashtra ministers claimed on Wednesday.
Goswami’s arrest by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Maharashtra police led to heavy criticism from top Union ministers, including home minister Amit Shah , who called it an “attack on free press”. The Republic TV chief was arrested from his residence in Mumbai and taken to Raigad in Maharashtra, where the case had been registered.
The channel has alleged that Goswami and members of his family were roughed up by the police during the arrest.
“No one is bigger than the law and Maharashtra police will act as per law. It’s true that the case was closed but Mrs. Naik moved court to reopen it. The court granted her permission,” Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh told reporters in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Deshmukh’s claim was repeated by Shiv Sena minister Anil Parab.
“It was an order by Alibaug magistrate court for further investigation around 20-25 days ago,” Parab told HuffPost India.
The timing of Goswami’s arrest, and the re-opening of a case previously closed by the police, has raised accusations of political vendetta by the Uddhav Thackeray -led government. Republic TV and the Maharashtra Police have been engaged in an acrimonious dispute ever since the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput . Goswami and Republic TV often attacked the police and the Thackeray-led government for allegedly mishandling the case. Goswami has also frequently targeted CM Thackeray and other non-BJP leaders on his channel.
In October, the Mumbai police claimed to have busted a TRP manipulation racket involving Republic TV, in which case it questioned Goswami and some of his employees.
Yet, Goswami’s arrest is linked to a case that is nearly two-and-a-half years old.
On May 5, 2018, Anvay Naik, an architect and the managing director of Concorde Designs Pvt. Ltd and his mother Kumud Naik were found dead in Kavir village in Alibaug town of Raigad district. The police concluded that Naik’s death was a suicide from a note left behind by him. In it, he alleged that his company was owed money by Goswami of Republic TV (Rs 83 lakh), Feroz Shaikh of Icast (Rs 4 crore), and Niteish Sarda of Smartworks (Rs 55 lakh). Kumud Naik was also a director in the firm.
The Alibaug police registered a case of abetment of suicide against the three men. However, the Raigad police found no evidence against Goswami, and the DYSP Alibag division filed a closure report in the case before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Raigad on April 16, 2019.
At the time, Maharashtra was ruled by the BJP -Shiv Sena government, and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was in charge of the state home department as well.
Naik’s wife Akshata had been releasing video statements alleging threats to herself and her daughter and demanding a fair investigation into the case.
“We had to make many requests that day ( May 5, 2018) even to get the FIR registered in this case. A police official told us that big names are involved in this case. But it’s been two years since that FIR was filed and we don’t know what happened with it. Our laptops have not been returned to us and our mobile phones are also with the police. We had to make efforts to get the suicide note. My daughter and I face threats to our lives and if something happens to us, Arnab Goswami will be responsible,” Anvay’s wife Akshata said in a video which she tweeted on May 5, 2020, the second death anniversary of her husband and mother-in-law’s deaths.
In a letter written to Dadar police station in Mumbai on May 8, 2020, Akshata claimed that Arnab Goswami still owes Rs 83 lakh to Naik for the construction of the Republic TV studio. Republic TV has denied the allegations.
On May 26 this year, Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh tweeted that he had taken cognisance of a complaint given to him by Naik’s daughter Adnya.
A top NCP source claimed that the arrest had nothing to do with Goswami’s attacks on non-BJP leaders in Maharashtra. This person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Akshata Naik had been meeting senior non-BJP leaders since before the Maharashtra election.
“The government formation in Maharashtra was complete only towards the beginning of January this year and the home minister could not settle down properly until February. In February, the ball started rolling and the local police station was asked about this case. When it appeared to be a serious matter, the court and the home minister directed the CID to reinvestigate the case,” this person said.
Anil Parab also argued on the same lines while speaking to reporters in Mumbai, stressing the Naik family’s Marathi identity.
“One Marathi sister had to face injustice. She moved to court and as per the court orders, reinvestigation has started in this case. The noise that freedom of expression or freedom of media is being curtailed has nothing to do with this case. The police action is not because Arnab Goswami is a journalist. Arnab Goswami did not pay the dues of a Marathi businessman and that businessman died by suicide due to Goswami’s harassment. This is what this matter is all about. This has got nothing to do with media freedom,” Parab told local Marathi channels in Mumbai.
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