New Delhi: 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.
“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,” Sanjay Mohite, IG Konkan Range said.
अर्नब की गिरफ्तारी पर अमित शाह का आया रिएक्शन, कांग्रेस और महाराष्ट्र सरकार पर साधा निशाना#ArnabGoswami @AmitShah @sambitswaraj @INCIndia
read – https://t.co/iQw0QYNZrt pic.twitter.com/AVEvgmUP0G
— Newsroom Post (@NewsroomPostCom) November 4, 2020
What is the case about?
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.
- Arnab Goswami (ARG Outlier/Republic TV) – Rs 83 lakh
- Niteish Sarda (Smartworks) – Rs 55 lakh
- 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.
Anvay Naik's Wife & Daughter pleading for Justice in case of his Suicide, where he mentioned the reason being #ArnabGoswami for not paying his dues. #JusticeForAnvayNaik pic.twitter.com/939m1qQqe9
— Aarti (@aartic02) November 4, 2020
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.”
