In a lightning strike operation, the Maharashtra Police on Wednesday morning swooped on the home of Republic TV owner and Chief Editor Arnab Goswami in the 2018 double-suicide case of a businessman in Raigad.
Around 8 a.m., a team of over a dozen senior police officials from Mumbai and Raigad, several of them armed -- led by former ‘encounter specialist' and now with the elite Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) Sachin Vaze -- descended on his Worli home in Raheja Complex to pick him up.
After a lot of hullaballoo for nearly 15 minutes at the flat, the police team managed to take away Arnab, once dragging him by his hair and by his arm, and bundled him into a waiting police van which whisked him off to Raigad, with a camera team from Republic TV trailing.
Taken by complete surprise, the Goswamis, including Arnab, his wife Samyabrata, their teenaged son and some others strongly protested, but the police appeared to be in a rough and tough mood.
"We had an arrest warrant which we showed him and requested him to cooperate in everybody's interest," according to police sources, even as the family continued to argue.
At one point, Goswami, who kept protesting stating that his arrest was "illegal" and wanted to speak with his lawyers, was pushed on a sofa near a french window as a couple of other cops stood nearby.
His wife started arguing with Vaze and other police officials, but as she seemed to get too close, a couple of women police constable firmly made her sit on a sofa.
"The police asked the Republic TV team and their own video team to switch off their cameras… Then he was assaulted and not allowed to take water and medicines," she claimed.
When Goswami Jr. tried to intervene for his father, he too was told to "keep off" as the police went about their job as R-TV team rushed there to capture and telecast the operations live.
"He (Goswami) has been arrested in connection with the suicide case of a man and his mother, registered in 2018 (in Raigad). The same court and the same police have reopened the case,", Vaze later told media persons.
Following this, the BJP, social media started to slam the Maharashtra State Government and accused them of misusing their power. Now veteran journalists of other media organizations have started to come forward and slam the Maharashtra State Government.
Veteran Journalist Rajat Sharma wrote, "I condemn the sudden arrest of Arnab Goswami in an abetment to suicide case. While I don’t agree with his style of studio trial, I also don’t approve of the misuse of state power to harass a journalist. A media Editor cannot be treated in this manner."
Zee News veteran journalist Sudhir Chaudhary wrote, "“I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death, your right to say it.” Voltaire’s famous words should guide journalists. State overreach is dangerous. Stand up for free speech. Jai Hind!"ABP News anchor Rubika Liyaquat slammed Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut and wrote, "झूठ.. सफ़ेद झूठ...आपके यहाँ क़ानून का नहीं ‘बदले की भावना’ का राज दिख रहा है (Lie .. Absolute lie ... You can see the 'revenge spirit', not the law.)" Aaj Tak too condemned the arrest of Arnab Goswami. Rohit Sardana retweeted, "रिपब्लिक मीडिया समूह के एडिटर इन चीफ़ अर्नब गोस्वामी को रायगढ़ पुलिस ने आत्महत्या के लिए उकसाने के मामले में गिरफ्तार किया है । आनन-फ़ानन में हुई गिरफ़्तारी से ये मामला राज्य की शक्तियों के दुरुपयोग का प्रतीत होता है. हम इसकी निंदा करते हैं."