Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami has petitioned Bombay High Court challenging his “illegal arrest” in a 2018 abetment of suicide case. He also sought the quashing of the FIR lodged against him by Alibaug Police in Maharashtra.
The development follows the high drama that marked his arrest on Wednesday.
The senior journalist claimed he had been physically assaulted by Mumbai Police. However, Alibaug court, which sent him to 14-day judicial custody late on Wednesday night, said on the basis of the medical report filed there did not appear to be any mistreatment or use of excess force or assault.
The court also slammed the Mumbai police for re-opening the 2018 case without its consent.
After his arrest, Arnab had claimed his son had been assaulted by the cops.
However, an FIR has been registered against Arnab for allegedly assaulting a female Mumbai cop at his residence when she along with other officers barged into his Worli residence to arrest him.
Police have also registered an FIR against Arnab’s wife, son and two others for allegedly assaulting the cops. Most possibly they are his father-in-law and mother-in-law who were present during this incident.
The police also claimed Arnab’s wife Samyabrata tore the intimation regarding his arrest. Alibaug deputy superintendent Praveen Patil’s name tag was also torn off from his uniform, the cops added.
The journalist was arrested in connection with the death of an interior designer and his mother in Alibaug in 2018.
A suicide note purportedly written by Anvay Naik claimed Arnab and two others owed him Rs 5.4 crore and had refused to pay it back, forcing him to take the extreme step. His mother Kumud Naik killed herself after learning of her son’s death.
