Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami on Thursday withdrew his anticipatory bail plea in connection with a case registered against him for allegedly assaulting a woman police officer, reported PTI. On November 11, Goswami and his wife Samyabrata Ray had moved the plea before a sessions court in Mumbai.
Goswami had sought pre-arrest bail after a First Information Report was registered against him at Mumbai’s NM Joshi Marg police station for allegedly assaulting a woman officer when a police team went to his house to arrest him on November 4 in connection with the Anvay Naik abetment to suicide case.
Goswami has been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 353 (assault to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) and under the Damage to Public Property Act in this case, according to PTI.
The Supreme Court granted Goswami bail in the abetment to suicide case, after overturning a Bombay High Court decision that denied him relief. The court had noted that Goswami had the right to a fair probe in the case.
Abetment to suicide case against Goswami
Goswami and two other people – Feroz Shaikh and Nitesh Sarda – are alleged to have failed to pay money they owed to interior designer Anvay Naik, managing director of Concorde Designs Private Limited. Naik and his mother were found dead in their home in Kavir village near Mumbai in 2018. A suicide note said that the Goswami, Shaikh and Sarda had not paid dues amounting to Rs 5.4 crore.
In 2019, the Maharashtra Police had closed the case. However, on November 4, Goswami was arrested and remanded to 14-judicial custody, with the police stating that they were now investigating the matter again.
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