Arnab Goswami held in abetment to suicide case

The Mumbai police Wednesday detained Arnab Goswami for allegedly abetting the suicide of an interior designer in 2018. It’s not yet clear if he was arrested as well.

The Republic TV editor alleged the police assaulted him while taking him away from his home early in the morning.

The interior designer, Anvay Naik, and his mother Kumud Naik were found dead in their home in May 2018. A suicide note purportedly written by Anvay claimed he had been forced to take his life because of financial problems caused by the non-payment of dues amounting to over Rs 5 crore by Goswami and two others. The police registered an abetment to suicide case but closed it in 2019. Here’s an explainer.

“In May 2020, Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh announced a fresh CID investigation into the case after Adnya Naik, daughter of Avnay Naik, approached him and complained that the Alibaug police had not investigated the ‘non-payment of dues from Arnab Goswami’s Republic’,” Hindustan Times reported.

The police action against Goswami drew condemnation, including from union ministers Smriti Irani and Prakash Javadekar.

Goswami's Republic TV is facing a separate investigation by the Mumbai police in connection with the alleged TRP scam.

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