Synopsis: The Raigad police, who yesterday arrested Arnab Goswami in connection with a suicide case in 2018, have sought custody to conduct additional investigations.
Raigad Police, which yesterday morning arrested Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, sought 14 days of police custody of Goswami.
Recently, the Raigad police renewed an investigation into the suicide of interior designer Anvay Naik in 2018, accusing Goswami and two others, Feroze Shaikh and Nitesh Sarda.
The police have now sought custody of Goswami mainly because the suicide note of Anvay Naik allegedly cited unpaid dues from Goswami and ARG Outliers (Republic TV’s parent company) as a reason for his suicide.
As Goswami allegedly did not repay the amount due to Naik’s company – Concorde Designs Pvt. Ltd. – his company faced grave financial losses.
The police also claim to have proof that Goswami bribed and threatened Naik ‘s wife, Akshata Naik, and their daughter in order not to prosecute the case against him.
The police are apprehensive that Goswami would threaten the witnesses and interfere with the investigation if he was not put in police custody.
The police say that when the investigation was carried out in 2018, there were some loopholes in the investigation that are being remedied. They also told the remand court that the inquiry that was reopened on orders is proceeding at a steady pace and generating positive results in terms of gathering evidence in support of the FIR’s allegations.
It is stated, for instance, that the police have found some Republic TV bank information in Concorde’s records. As such, it is claimed that there are fair grounds for believing that further supporting evidence can be obtained by interrogating Goswami.
The Police have concluded that for a thorough investigation, it is essential that Goswami be remanded for as many days as possible, which the Court may deem fit.