The Alibaug Police on Wednesday morning arrested Republic TV Editor Arnab Goswami from his Mumbai residence, for having allegedly abetted the death of an interior designer Anvay Naik and his mother Kumud Naik in 2018. The move comes in the wake of Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh announcing a fresh CID probe. Reacting on the issue, Republic TV quashed all the allegations and made it clear that a malicious campaign is being launched against it, adding that all non-payments which were due to Concorde Designs, have been paid.
Mr Goswami said that he was manhandled and assaulted by the Mumbai Police as he was detained from his Mumbai home before being pushed into a van.
Anvay Naik is a 53-yr old interior designer and the MD of Concorde Designs Pvt Ltd who committed suicide in 2018 at his Alibaug residence, along with his mother Kumud Naik who was also a member in the Board of Directors. In his suicide note, it was mentioned that Arnab Goswami along with two others Feroz Shaikh and Niteish Sarda had failed to pay him Rs 5.40 crore which eventually led him into a financial crisis. Now, though the Alibaug Police in 2018 had filed an abetment to suicide case, the Raigad Police in 2019 had closed it.
However, the case was reopened when Adnya Naik, daughter of Anvay Naik in May 2020 had met Anil Deshmukh the Maharashtra Home Minister and requested him to investigate the non-payment of dues from Republic TV which is managed by Arnab Goswami. She had also filed a complaint with the Alibaug Police.
“We condemn the attack on press freedom in Maharashtra. This is not the way to treat the Press. This reminds us of the emergency days when the press was treated like this,” Prakash Javadekar, Senior BJP leader and the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said.
