Republic TV editor Arnab Goswami sent to 14-day judicial custody

Arnab Goswami and two others have been sent to 14-day judicial custody by Alibug court in Maharastra on Wednesday for the 2018 suicide abetment case.

According to officials of Mumbai Police, It is alleged that, in 2018, an architect Anvay Naik (53 years old) and his mother committed suicide in Alibaug over alleged non-payment of dues by Goswami’s Republic TV.

The FIR in the case says that Arnab Goswami of ARG Outlier, owner of Republic TV, had allegedly pending dues of Rs 83 lakh for the Bombay Dyeing Studio Project, and Feroz Shaikh had pending dues worth Rs 4 Crore for a project in Andheri.

Similarly, Nitish Sarda of Smart Work had allegedly pending dues of Rs 55 lakh for his projects at Magarputta and Baner in Pune.

The architect Anvay Naik and his mother Kumud Naik were found dead at their farmhouse in Kavir village of Alibug in May 2018. The case, which was closed by Raigad Police in 2019, was reopened when Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh ordered a re-investigation on the basis of a fresh complaint by Naik’s daughter, Aanya.

In a press release, RepublicTV said “Arnab Goswami’s arrest in the related suicide case has been made as part of a larger vindictive exercise against an independent journalist and an independent news organisation.” The release said the “Anvay Naik suicide case was investigated and closed by a court of law after a closure report by the police noted that no case was made out in April 2019.”

#IndiaWithArnab | Arnab Goswami’s arrest has been made part of a larger vindictive exercise against an independent journalist & news network. This is to bring to light real facts on unfounded allegations in a closed case based on which #ArnabGoswami was assaulted & arrested pic.twitter.com/Artf59dBhO

— Republic (@republic) November 4, 2020