Updated: November 10, 2020 2:17:09 am
Arnab Goswami was transferred from the Alibag COVID-19 Quarantine Center dedicated to inmates to Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai on Sunday. (Express photo by Narendra Vasker)
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari called the state Interior Minister Anil Deshmukh and expressed concern for the safety and health of Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami. On Sunday, Goswami had alleged that he was “assaulted” in jail and was denied access to his lawyers.
According to Raj Bhavan, the governor also asked the interior minister to allow Goswami’s family to see him and speak with him. The governor had previously expressed concern about Goswami’s manner of detention.
“I received a call from the governor saying that Arnab Goswami’s family should be allowed to meet him in prison. However, in view of the pandemic of the last four months in all prisons in the state, relatives of prisoners cannot meet with them for fear of the spread of the virus. For this reason, Arnab’s family will not be able to meet him in jail. However, they can talk to him by phone, ”Deshmukh said.
He also said that inmates were allowed to use phones in certain cases as long as they had prior permission from prison authorities.
Deshmukh declined to comment on Goswami’s allegations that he was beaten in jail. “The matter is sub-judice and it would not be good of me to comment on it,” he said.
It also added that an investigation had been launched into the conduct of investigating officer Suresh Varade during the investigation into the death of Anvay Naik.
Meanwhile, the PNC did not take the governor’s call kindly, saying it would have been better if the governor had shown sympathy for Anvay Naik’s family rather than sympathy for an individual charged with a felony.
“The way the governor shows sympathy for a particular defendant like Arnab Goswami and does not side with Naik’s family, who for months had to go around seeking justice is not appropriate,” said the state cabinet minister and spokesman. of the PNC, Nawab Malik.
.
