Arnab Goswami faces police over alleged provocative comments

Mumbai, June 10 (PTI): Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami on Wednesday appeared before Mumbai police after being summoned in a case about alleged provocative comments.

Goswami reached the N M Joshi Marg police station around 2 pm and was awaiting his interrogation by police officials, who first grilled S Sundaram, Republic TVs Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused to grant Goswami exemption from appearance before the police in the case and asked him to appear before the cops on Wednesday.

Two First Information Reports (FIRs) have been registered against Goswami in Nagpur and Mumbai accusing him of making provocative comments about a community during a news show about migrant workers gathering in large numbers outside the Bandra railway terminus during lockdown.

Police had summoned Goswami for interrogation in connection with a complaint filed against him for allegedly creating communal disturbance through his TV show aired on April 29.

The court allowed him to appear at the N M Joshi Marg police station, and not at Pydhonie, which is a containment zone.

Speaking to reporters outside the police station, Goswami alleged “political vendetta and deliberate obstruction to his media duty” by Mumbai police and urged media fraternity to unite.

“I am at the N M Joshi Marg police station. My CFO has been interrogated for six hours and I am waiting for three hours to go in next. This is clear and blatant political vendetta. The Vadra Congress is blatantly misusing the Mumbai police. But like always, they will fail.

“I stand by every minute of our Palghar and Bandra migrants’ protest coverage. The New media in a new India is becoming stronger. It is time for the Lutyens brigade to introspect,” Goswami said.

Asked why was the channel CFO called for questioning, a senior police official indicated that it may be a part of the process to see how the channel functions.