The governor asked the interior minister to allow Arnab Goswami’s family to meet him.
Mumbai:
After the arrested Republic TV host Arnab Goswami alleged that he was being “assaulted” in prison and not allowed to reunite with his family, the Governor of Maharashtra intervened and raised his concerns with the state government.
Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari spoke with Maharashtra’s Interior Minister Anil Deshmukh this morning and expressed concern for the safety and health of Mr. Goswami in prison.
The governor also asked the interior minister to allow the journalist’s family to meet him.
Goswami was transferred to a jail from a prison quarantine center on Sunday after he was allegedly found using a mobile phone. He was accused of using a mobile phone to post on social media, although his phone was seized when he was arrested last week.
While being taken to Taloja jail, Goswami had yelled at the media from the police van, claiming that he was assaulted by the Alibaug jailer on Saturday night, that his life was in danger and that he was not being allowed to speak to his lawyer.
In a statement, Mr. Goswami’s wife, Samyabrata Ray Goswami, also on Republic TV, said: “This morning my husband, who has spent four nights in court custody, was being dragged and dragged by the
Maharashtra police in a dark police van to Taloja jail. He repeatedly said that my life is threatened, but to no avail. He repeatedly said the jailer assaulted him after he requested access to his lawyers, which he was scandalously denied. He detailed the assault that was inflicted on him during this custody and pleaded, with folded hands, to the Supreme Court to intervene and release him on bail. “
Mr. Goswami and two others were arrested on November 4 in connection with the suicide of architect Anvay Naik and his mother in 2018, allegedly for unpaid fees for their work on Republic TV televisions.
All three were sent to judicial custody until November 18.
Several Union ministers spoke out in support of the television host, comparing his arrest to the days of the Emergency and accusing the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government of Maharashtra of attacking press freedom.
.
