Early Wednesday morning, senior journalist and Republic Media Network editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami was arrested on an abetment to suicide case dating back to 2018. The senior journalist was physically assaulted by the Maharashtra Police team, and even his family was roughed up as the police took to arresting him, allegedly without requisite documents and in complete contestation of laid procedural norms. The very case under which Arnab Goswami has today been arrested had in fact been closed by the Maharashtra Police due to lack of evidence. A closure report to the same effect was also filed by them.
Yet, the 2018 case seems to have been reopened once again in a classic vendetta tactic against the senior journalist by a police force headed by those with alleged vested interests and clear political motivations. In May 2018, an FIR was filed against Arnab Goswami in an alleged abetment to suicide case. An Interior Designer named Anvay Naik had committed suicide in his residence at Alibaug. Based on the suicide note left behind by Naik, police registered an abetment to suicide case against Goswami, Feroz Shaikh of IcastX/Skimedia and Niteish Sarda of Smartworks.
In his suicide note, Anvay Naik claimed Goswami and two other persons, Feroz Shaikh and Niteish Sarda owed him a total of Rs 5.4 crore. The Times of India had also reported that Arnab Goswami had allegedly not paid Rs. 83 lakhs for a design project of his Republic TV studio built in late-2016-early-2017. Early this year, after the Maharashtra government got particularly irritated with Goswami’s coverage of the Palghar mob-lynching of sadhus, the Congress state unit of Maharashtra had tweeted a video of Mr. Naik’s wife, where she can be heard saying, “If anything happens to me and my daughter, then solely Arnab Goswami, Anil Paraskar and Suresh Warade would be responsible.”
A response by Republic Media Network had then said that the case against Arnab Goswami was investigated and closed by a court of law after a closure report was filed by the Police in the matter since Mrs Akshita had no proof to back her allegations or prove any sort of illegality on Goswami’s part. In fact, when the case had first come to light, Republic had said in a statement, “Republic TV will take strict legal action against anyone indulging in such false propaganda. Republic TV would like to clarify that it had engaged the services of one Concorde Designs Private Limited sometime in December 2016. All amounts due and payable under the contract were paid by Republic TV to Concorde Designs. The details of payment, including cheque numbers, amounts, dates of payment, related correspondence and documentation are available with Republic TV. All such details and evidence will be given to the appropriate authorities as and when required. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mr Naik’s family.”
Arnab Goswami’s lawyer has meanwhile alleged that the senior journalist has been arrested by the Maharashtra Police without them having filed a fresh FIR in the case, which speaks volumes about the random nature of the arrest and the absolute lack of evidence against Goswami in the matter. The lawyer has also stated that the police pulled Arnab by the hair and by his belt, and beat him on the back. That a two-year old case which had been closed seems to have been revived without a fresh FIR being filed is indeed a dangerous precedent for Indian democracy, which certain parties in Maharashtra have decided to shamelessly walk over.
This single incidence alone should be adequate reason for imposing President’s rule in the state. The fact that it is not happening is a sad commentary on the state of democracy in India. The series of vindicative incidences in the past few months be it relating to Vibhor Anand, kangana Ranot, Nitin Thakkar, The Navy commander (retired) or Arnab Hoswami is dark spot in the history of the state boasting of a legacy of justice of no less than the mighty ruler Shivaji Maharaj.
Will the public of Maharashtra in general and Mumbai in particular learn from the events of the past few months and teach a lesson to these politicians indulging in blatant misuse of power for personal vendetta?