Republic TV owner and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami on Wednesday was arrested by Mumbai police from his residence in connection with the death of interior designer Anvay Naik and his mother Kumud Naik in 2018. A police team went to Goswami’s house early Wednesday and picked him up and took him away in a convoy of vehicles as shown by the visuals on Republic TV showed. The channel said police had barged into Goswami’s house and alleged that the journalist had also been assaulted.
Mumbai Police inspector Sachin Vaze, who Republic TV said led the team to Goswami’s house, told the channel that he had been arrested for abetment and aiding suicide.
“They did not let me meet my family…they beat my son, mere bete ko maara,”
-Arnab Goswami
Goswami was shown by the channel as saying through the grills of a police vehicle in which he was being taken away. Mumbai Police spokesperson S. Chaitanya told that Goswami was arrested by the Raigad police. “Mumbai Police has nothing to do with Goswami’s arrest. We didn’t arrest him. Raigad police have arrested him,” he said.
The 2018 suicide case, which took place in Raigad district, was reopened by the Maharashtra government earlier this year. Goswami and two others were booked by the Alibaug police for allegedly abetting the suicide of 53-year-old Anvay Naik and his mother.
WHAT IS 2018 SUICIDE ABETMENT CASE?
Goswami stands accused of allegedly abetting the suicide of 53-year-old architect/interior designer Anvay Naik and his mother Kumud Naik in 2018. On 5 May 2018, Anvay Naik committed suicide in Alibaug, which falls in the Raigad district of Maharashtra. His mother Kumud Naik was also found dead at their home, but her post-mortem report indicated that she had been strangulated and had not committed suicide herself.
A suicide note purportedly written by Anvay was found in which he said that Goswami and two others had not paid him Rs 5.40 crore which led to his financial constraints.
1. Arnab Goswami (ARG Outlier/Republic TV) – Rs 83 lakh
2. Niteish Sarda (Smartworks) – Rs 55 lakh
3. Feroz Shaikh (IcastX/Skimedia) – Rs 4 crore
The case which had been closed earlier has now been reopened.
The Raigad police also found that Naik had an NC (non-cognizable) registered against a contractor in Mumbai after the latter had threatened him to repay the money he had taken. Goswami had however denied this charge and said that he had made the payments.
The local Raigad police that has been investigating the case closed the case in April 2019 saying that they did not find evidence against the accused named in the suicide note, including Goswami. However, in May this year, Anvay’s daughter approached the Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh seeking the case be reopened. Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had tweeted in May,
“Adnya Naik had complained to me that Alibaug Police had not investigated non-payment of dues from Arnab Goswami’s public which drover her entrepreneur father and grandma to suicide in May 2018. I’ve ordered a CID re-investigation of the case.”
-Anil Deshmukh
The alleged suicide note by Naik (on behalf of himself and his mother Kumud, who was also a director of the design company), which names Goswami and two others who owed them money, states as follows:
“We are committing suicide due to following ... our (concorde designs pvt ltd) ... money is stuck and following owners of respected companies are not paying our legitimate dues ... 1. Mr Arnab goswami - ARG Outlier of Republic TV not paid 83 Lacs for Bombay dyeing studio project.................... Kindly collect money from them & hold them responsible for our death & pay to creditors.”
IS THE CASE LINKED TO THE RECENT TRP CASE AGAINST REPUBLIC TV?
No, this is a case filed in Raigad and being investigated by the Local Crime Branch of Raigad police. This case has no connection to the recent case filed by the Mumbai police against Republic TV for allegedly bribing officials of a TV ratings firm for boosting TRPs of the channel. While a team from Mumbai police crime branch was present today to arrest Goswami, it was an assistance team since the jurisdiction of the accused's residence is under Mumbai police limits. All three accused -- Goswami, Shaikh and Sarda -- were arrested by joint teams of Mumbai police crime branch officials and Raigad police from Worli, Jogeshwari and Kandivali.
WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE CASE?
The Maharashtra police has on November 4, 2020 arrested all three people named in the suicide note, Goswami, Shaikh and Sarda. Indian Express quoted Sanjay Mohite, Inspector General, Konkan Range confirming the arrest and saying, "Arnab Goswami is currently being taken to Raigad. He shall be interrogated by the investigating officer and the further course of action will be decided accordingly." Anvay's wife Akshata and daughter Adnya have held a press conference thanking the state government and claimed that Republic is wrong in claiming that all the dues have been paid. REACTION OF POLITICAL PARTIES:
The arrest of Republic TV's Arnab Goswami has brought the Centre and the Maharashtra governments back at loggerheads. One after the other Union ministers released statements on Twitter condemning the arrest and accused the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra of vindictiveness. The Maharashtra government on the other hand said the administration was acting as the law required and the government or a political party had nothing to do with it.
Several Union ministers and senior BJP leaders have criticised the Congress over Arnab Goswami's arrest and called it an "attack on freedom of press". Hitting out at the BJP over its criticism of Arnab Goswami's arrest in Mumbai, the Congress party said its "selective outrage" on press freedom is "shameful" and the law will take its own course in the case against Arnab Goswami.
i)BJP SAYS ARREST REMINDS OF EMERGENCY:
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Congress and its allies had "shamed democracy once again".
"Blatant misuse of state power against Republic TV & Arnab Goswami is an attack on individual freedom and the 4th pillar of democracy. It reminds us of the Emergency. This attack on free press must be and WILL BE OPPOSED," he said in his tweet.
Union Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the arrest of Arnab Goswami was "seriously reprehensible, unwarranted and worrisome". Accusing Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi of openly attacking Narendra Modi on "motivated charges of attack on institutions" and yet remaining silent on Maharashtra where the government was "suppressing freedom of Press".
BJP president JP Nadda posted on Twitter: "Every person who believes in a free press and freedom of expression is furious at the Maharashtra Government's bullying and harassment of Arnab Goswami. This is yet another instance of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi-directed antic of silencing those who disagree with them. Shameful!"
JP Nadda added, "India didn't forgive Indira Gandhi for the Emergency. India never forgave Rajiv Gandhi for his assault on press freedom. And now, India will again punish Sonia-Rahul Gandhi for their brazen and intimidating use of state power to get equal with journalists."
Smriti Irani, Prakash Javadekar and other senior ministers in the Union Council of Ministers joined in to condemn the arrest in strong words and called it an attack on dissent.
II) MAHARASHTRA SAYS LAW PREVAILS:
The Maharashtra government remained unaffected by the heavyweight condemnation and said the law was taking its course and there was no politics involved in it. Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik termed Arnab Goswami's arrest as "Part 2 of India's Most Wanted". India's Most Wanted was a TV show that dramatized stories of wanted criminals.
Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Anil Parab said the arrest had nothing to do with press freedom. "Arnab Goswami had duped a businessman Anvay Naik of money. Naik committed suicide due to financial distress. Arnab has been arrested for that." Hitting out at BJP for going all out in supporting Arnab Goswami, Anil Parab wondered whether Arnab was a BJP worker. "Why are the shouting in his support? If they are on his side they should officially announce it".
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said nobody was above the law and the police will act according to the law.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said, "Proper procedure of law is followed in Maharashtra. Police can take action against anyone if they have evidence. The state government hasn't acted out of revenge," Mr Raut told reporters when asked about Arnab Goswami's arrest. "There is no anarchy in Maharashtra and law of the land is followed," Mr Raut said, adding that Mumbai police is a professional force.
iii)CONGRESS CONDEMNS OUTRAGE:
Congress spokesperson Surpiya Shrinate said the BJP was hypocritical and made selective noise about press freedom. "What he (Arnab Goswami) does in the garb of journalism is not journalism, what he does in the garb of journalism is the work of a BJP frontal," Ms Shrinate alleged.
"To accuse people, to hurl abuses, to make any sort of allegations, to use the language that he does. Is he judge or jury? What sort of journalism is he doing in the garb of running a TV channel," she claimed.
Ms Shrinate alleged the BJP should be the last one to be talking about freedom of the press. She also accused the BJP of "controlling the media" through advertisements and through "intimidation and fear".
"I am reasonably certain that wherever Congress is in government or we are in alliance, people will not be punished if they are absolutely innocent. I also believe that law will take its own course even in this case," she said.
IS ARNAB’S ARREST REALLY AN ATTACK ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION?
Media is the fourth pillar of democracy,” said Lord Macaulay.
i)Freedom of speech and expression under BJP rule and its misuse by some BJP ministers:
Does this statement really hold true in today’s scenario? Well, the situation is now turning out to be just the opposite. Worldwide, reports are now not only being censored but journalists are also being thrashed and killed brutally. From Jamal Khashoggi to Gauri Lankesh, whoever spoke against the government and the society has been murdered, and crimes against the fearless journalists are on the rise.
Here is a list of incidents that show attack on freedom of speech as well as its misuse :
Murder is the highest form of censorship. Gauri Lankesh, the Editor-in-chief of Lankesh Patre, Shujaat Bukhari who was a Kashmiri journalist, Naveen Nishal , K.M Basher and many like them were threatened and killed because of their different ideologies that of government and society.
Naveen Nischal, who was working with Dainik Bhaskar was murdered on March 25, 2018. His death was a big slap to our so-called sophisticated Indian society the reason being he was reporting against child marriage in Arrah, Bihar. Journalists who simply write against government policies and criticise their work are very easily given the title ‘anti-nationalist’ and are under constant threat of retaliation.
The lack of constructive criticism is also a factors for India’s dismal position in the Fress Freedom Index. The recent abrogation of Article 370 and little-to-no allowance of ground-level reporting from Kashmir paralysed the media further. Kashmiri journalists have
Kappan along with three others was arrested from Mathura on October 6, while he was on his way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, to cover the gangrape and murder of a Dalit woman. The state police had alleged the journalist is linked to the Popular Front of India, a Muslim organisation based out of Kerala. He was eventually charged with sedition and provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
· Tsewang Rigzin, a Leh correspondent of ‘Daily State Times’, was arrested too - for a comment he didn’t even make!mRegzin runs a Facebook page called 'Ladakh in the Media'. Someone somewhere commented against a BJP parliamentarian. Since the cops couldn’t find the person who commented, they arrested the admin instead.
Similarly, Manipur TV journalist Kishore Chandra Wangkhem was arrested for social media posts criticising the BJP and PM Modi.
Dhaval Patel, editor of ‘Face of Nation’, was charged with sedition for allegedly publishing a speculative report on BJP changing the CM in Gujarat.
Masrat Zahra, a photojournalist in Kashmir, was booked under UAPA (Yes, anti-terror law) for uploading “anti-national” social media posts.
Subramanian was reacting to the 'Padmavati' controversy, wherein a BJP leader had placed a bounty of ₹10 cr for beheading actor Deepika Padukone . Deepika has played the lead role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Padmavati', which got mired in a controversy with its release put off until 2018. When asked, Aarif was quoted: "While sharing the page and writing my comment on it, I could not complete it. I wanted to write that no one should do anything of that sort as Hyderabad would get a bad name".
Giving examples of how women are targeted online, particularly those who are “outspoken”, the report gives the example of how journalist Rana Ayyub was targeted online over a fake tweet. Despite being harassed for weeks, the report says, there has been real progress in the case. “Female journalists are trolled for their controversial opinions, but some female journalists are trolled simply because they speak up.”
Honestly , the list is endless.
But don’t you all think now its time to analyse the freedom of speech under NDA government too? Well , if we are analysing it so clearly then why not to have a look on the other side?
ii) Freedom of speech and expression under Congress rule and its misuse by some Congress ministers:
From threatening the press during Nehru’s rule and co-oping it during the times of Indira Gandhi to intimidating and bullying in the present Sonia Gandhi’s era – the Congress party, the epitome of liberal values of India, has come one full circle.
On the occasion of Press Freedom Day, the Congress party, ironically, took to social media to blame BJP claiming that it stiffed free voice on the country. “To all the journalists we would say, Daro Mat,” the Congress tweeted.
The Congress party lamenting over lack of freedom for the press to express their opinion in the country is just paradoxical. The audacity of the Congress party to take up the cause for press freedom at a time when the party itself is hounding journalists for speaking against them comes as a shocker.
Since the times of Jawaharlal Nehru to Sonia Gandhi’s era, the Congress party has been highly intolerant when it comes to accepting criticism from the press. The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has left no room for dissent and has acted strictly against the press whenever they have raised fingers against their misdeeds.
Here is a list of incidents that show attack on freedom of speech as well as its misuse :
· All began when India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru decided to move the 1st amendment to the Indian constitution in 1951, which as per clause 2 of article 19, imposed “reasonable restrictions” on free speech on grounds like – in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality, contempt of court or in relation to incitement of an offence.
· This lack of freedom of expression was also visible when poet and lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri was arrested and spent a year in jail for writing a poem critical Nehru.
· The Congress government under Nehru banned the magazine Cross Roads. Later, the Supreme Court overturned the ban imposed on the magazine but Nehru bypassed the SC judgement through First Amendment act.
· According to Professor Anand Ranganathan, Congress Chief Minister of Bihar had burnt copies of the magazine ‘Sunday’ because it published stories on him and his family’s misdeeds.
· During the pre-Emergency period, the editors were made to face the wrath of the Indira Gandhi government. In West Bengal, the Congress loyalists had burnt 3,000 copies of Darpan, Bangladesh and Sathya Yugi as it was critical to the government.
· In 1975, just before Indira Gandhi had imposed the emergency, the then West Bengal Chief Minister Siddartha Shankar Ray was advised by Congress leader Om Mehta to cut the electricity supply to newspaper offices so that the critical news of emergency being posed did not reach the masses.
· In 2018, the Congress-JDS government in Karnataka had arrested Santhosh Thammayya, a journalist with paper Hosa Digantha on 13th November 2018 around midnight for making an anti-Tipu speech. The Karnataka police had arrested Santosh after he spoke critically against Tipu Sultan.
· On April 23, 2020, Republic TV Chief Arnab Goswami was attacked by the Congress party workers after he had questioned Congress President Sonia Gandhi over her silence on the Palghar lynching case. On April 27, Arnab Goswami was interrogated for over 12 hours by Mumbai Police at NM Joshi Marg Police station in Mumbai. He was questioned after the Congress party filed more than 150 FIRs against him in various states of the country. Also, family of farmer who has named Shiv Sena MP in suicide note demand justice , just like Arnab’s arrest.
· A video has gone viral on social media that shows Congress corporator, Vikrant Chavan in Maharashtra hitting a woman journalist at a metro station in Mumbai. The journalist posted a series of tweets narrating the incident, and also shared the video where the corporator is seen losing his calm.
· Kamal Shukla, editor of a local newspaper, was dragged down a street and beaten when he had gone to cover an assault on a young journalist when he himself came under attack. The younger scribe, who has been filing RTIs on illegal sand miners, had been beaten up and dragged to Kanker police station by a group of people. The journalist alleged that Congress leaders created a ruckus and abused their colleagues at the police station. They accused the police officers present at the site of not doing anything to stop the Congress leaders. The journalists added that the CCTV recording of the entire incident is available at the police station.
· Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Mullappally Ramachandran on Sunday sparked a row after he made a sexist remark while accusing the Kerala government of relying on an “adulteress” to target them.The Kerala Congress Chief remarked that a woman with self-respect would end her life if raped or she would rather prevent it from happening again. “If someone says it happened once, it’s understood, but she says everyone raped her. A woman with self-respect would end her life if raped or will try to prevent it from happening again.”
And the list continues………
The chain of dictatorial tendencies which started ever since Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister of the country has continued to flourish till date .While protesting , it is usually forgotten that threat to freedom of speech and expression had existed since decades , irrespective of the ruling party , and its our duty first to oppose such violent actions without thinking which party or group of political parties would favour or be at loss because it has become a legacy to be thrown in jail or to be murdered if went anti – government .
It is practically obvious that Arnab’s arrest cannot be directly linked to his freedom of speech and expression . But deep down , we all are aware of the political agendas and games being played well from both the sides turnwise.
Yes, freedom of speech has been attacked but the definition of “freedom of speech” surely changes depending on who’s giving the speech.
Yes it is correct that Arnab’s arrest is not related to his journalism .He is arrested because of the 2018 suicide abetment case . But , the revenge witch-hunting and the hidden political propagandas cannot be ignored. Any kind of witch-hunting and violent criticism is not justified , even in Rhea Chakraborty’s case ("innocent till proven guilty") but the fact needs to sink in that freedom of speech and expression always had had a different angle in India .
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