Arnab Goswami arrest: Editor-in-chief of Republic TV arrested for abetting suicide

Police forcefully removed Arnab Goswami, the Editor-in-Chief of the Indian news agency Republic TV, from his home in Mumbai, India. He was arrested on charges of aiding and abetting the suicide of interior designer Anvay Naik and his mother Kumud Naik. Even though the case from 2018 was initially filed in Alibaug, India, and was eventually closed by the police there, the Mumbai police are re-investigating it. The arrest has drawn widespread criticism especially from the nation's ruling political party, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

In May 2018, Anvay reportedly died by suicide. Following the news of his death, his mother, Kumud, also took her own life. In a suicide note left behind by the 53-year-old interior designer, Goswami and two others were blamed for his death. He wrote that he was owed around Rs. 54m (£555k) by the three people he named in the letter. Unable to bear the burden of the financial loss, he said that he decided to end his life.

The case was investigated by police in Alibaug, Maharashtra before being closed by the Raigad police in 2019. However, two years after the incident, the Maharashtra government ordered the case to be reopened and investigated by the Central Investigation Department (CID).

At around 7:45 am local time today, the police arrested Goswami from his home for abetment of suicide. A video shared on social media shows the news anchor and his family members resisting his arrest. Goswami was finally dragged out of his home, placed in a police vehicle and taken to Alibaug.

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had stated that the daughter of the deceased man approached the government for justice, News 18 reported. Adnya Naik apparently complained that the Alibaug police had not conducted the investigation properly, the case was reopened and handed over to the CID.

Since his arrest, Republic TV has claimed that their Editor-in-Chief and his family had been assaulted by the police. They stated that they stood "strongly against" the actions of the Maharashtra Government and the Mumbai Police.

Politicians, journalists, and members of the public have condemned the arrest as a vengeful act by the state government. The Editor's Guild of India said that the arrest was "extremely distressing" as it infringed the Freedom of Press. India's Home Minister and a key member of the BJP tweeted that the move "shamed democracy".

The investigation into the abetment of suicide continues.