Police have filed a case against Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami and two others for allegedly abetting the suspected suicide of an interior designer in Alibaug near Mumbai on Saturday, The Indian Express reported. He is said to have named the three in a suicide note, alleging that they had not paid him their dues.
Republic TV has denied the allegation.
The Raigad Police filed the case on the basis of a complaint by the interior designer’s wife. “The deceased, an interior decorator, had worked with the three persons he has named in the suicide note,” Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjay Patil said. “According to his wife’s complaint, the three did not clear his pending bills, leading Anvay Naik to suffer severe losses in his business.”
Police said Naik had committed suicide by hanging himself at his bungalow in Alibaug. His mother was also found dead near him, but the cause of her death is not known yet.
Republic TV issued a statement late on Saturday, claiming that groups with vested interests were running a false and malicious campaign against the channel by exploiting Naik’s death, and threatened legal action.
“Republic TV would like to clarify that it had engaged the services of one Concorde Designs Private Limited sometime in December 2016,” the statement said. “All amounts due and payable under the contract were paid by Republic TV to Concorde Designs. The details of payment, including cheque numbers, amounts, dates of payment, related correspondence and documentation are available with Republic TV.”
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