Indian police said they had arrested a firebrand television news anchor and charged him with suicide in the 2018 case of the architect and the architect’s mother. Sanjay Mohit, a senior Mumbai police official, said on Wednesday that the allegations against Republic TV founder Arnav Goswami were linked to the deaths of interior designer Anvay Nayak and his mother, who police have decided to commit suicide.
Police found and in a suicide note written with determination by Naik said he took his life because Goswami and two others owed him a large sum of money and refused to return it. Goswami has denied the allegation.
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Goswami is known for aggressively supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his nationalist policies during his nightly programs, he often booms down opponents. Critics have accused Republic TV of violating Modi’s agenda at a time when other media channels say press freedom is at stake.
A in Republic TV Statement Goswami called the arrest a “black day of India’s democracy” and alleged physical assault by police. His channel showed a video of Goswami being placed in a police van by officers outside his residence in Mumbai.
Several senior leaders of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party were quick to condemn Goswami’s arrest.
India’s powerful Home Minister Amit Shah has tweeted that the blatant abuse of state power against Prajasattak TV and Arnab Goswami is an attack on the fourth pillar of individual freedom and democracy. “This attack on the free press must be and will be opposed.”
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal called his arrest a “fascist move” and a “sign of an undeclared crisis”.
“We should all stand up against this attack on India’s democracy,” Goyal tweeted.
Another senior minister of the ruling party, Smriti Irani, tweeted: “You can’t like them, you can’t allow them, you can deny their existence, but if you remain silent you support repression.”
The Editors Guild of India, which represents the country’s newspapers, condemned Goswami’s arrest. In a statement, the authorities “ensure that Goswami is treated fairly and that state power is not used against critical reporting by the media”.
Goswami is not new to controversies.
Goswami has been charged in two other cases with inciting sectarian tensions and promoting hatred between religious groups. He has denied the allegations.
In October, Mumbai police also accused Republic TV of being rigid in its rating system, a key factor in which the channel could charge advertisers. Goswami and his channel have denied the allegations.
For the past few months, he has run wall-to-wall coverage against Mumbai police and accused popular actor Sushant Singh Rajput of falsifying the investigation into his death.
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