Police question TV anchor Arnab Goswami for 5 hours

Republic TV’s editor-in-chief and prime time anchor Arnab Goswami on Wednesday afternoon reached Mumbai’s NM Joshi Marg police station for interrogation, in connection

Republic TV’s editor-in-chief and prime time anchor Arnab Goswami on Wednesday afternoon reached Mumbai’s NM Joshi Marg police station for interrogation, in connection with the case registered against him for allegedly instigating hatred against the Muslim community while anchoring a programme on April 29 on the protests by stranded migrants outside the Bandra railway station on April 14.

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Mumbai police spokesperson and deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Pranaya Ashok said, “Arnab Goswami reached NM Joshi police station at around 2:15pm on Wednesday while responding to the summons issued by Pydhonie police station authorities a day before.” He left the police station at 6.45pm.

Suresh Gaikwad, the investigating officer and an inspector with Pydhonie police station, along with his team arrived before Goswami reached NM Joshi Marg police station.

“Pydhonie police authorities first questioned Goswami, followed by NM Joshi Marg police personnel in relation to another case registered against him, where he had made a derogatory statement about Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, linking her with the lynching of two Hindu seers in Palghar on April 16,” said a senior Indian police service (IPS) official, requesting anonymity.

Goswami was summoned to Pydhonie police station on the basis of a complaint by Irfan Abubakar Shaikh, secretary, Raza Education Welfare Society.

Sheikh had alleged in his FIR that Goswami tried to create hatred against the Muslim community and targeted a Bandra-based mosque that had no links to a protest by stranded migrant workers, who wanted to go back to their native places on April 14.

Lawyers from Phoenix Legal, who is representing Goswami in the cases, couldn’t be contacted, despite HT’s attempts.

“The mosque near the Bandra railway station is not linked to the stranded migrant workers’ protest. The workers had only gathered in an open space near the mosque. But Goswami deliberately highlighted the mosque on his show on April 29 to create communal disturbances in Mumbai,” Shaikh alleged.

“The raging debate on Republic TV was aimed at blaming the Muslim community for spreading Covid-19 in Mumbai. Earlier, too, he made similar hate-filled comments, targeting the community,” he further alleged.

The FIR was registered under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, and language), 295A (deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any citizen) 500 (defamation), 505 (2) (spreading rumour or alarming news with intent to create or promote feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).