Raigad police seeks 14 days’ police custody of Arnab Goswami

The Raigad police, which had arrested Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami this morning,has sought 14 days' police custody of Goswami, legal news website BarandBench.com has reported.

The Raigad police had recently renewed investigation a 2018 case concerning the suicide of interior designer Anvay Naik, in which Goswami and two others - Feroze Shaikh and Nitesh Sarda - were accused.

The police have now sought custody of Goswami primarily for the reason that Anvay Naik’s suicide note purportedly cited unpaid dues from Goswami and ARG Outliers (parent company to Republic TV) as a reason for his suicide.

As Goswami allegedly did not repay the amount due to Naik’s company - Concorde Designs Pvt. Ltd. - his company faced grave financial losses.

The police also claim to have evidence that Naik's wife, Akshata Naik and their daughter were bribed and threatened by Goswami to not pursue the case against him.

The police raised apprehension that if Goswami is not placed in police custody, he would threaten the witnesses and meddle with the investigation.

The police submit that when the investigation was conducted in 2018, there was some lacunae in the investigation which is being remedied. They have further told the remand court that the investigation which was re-opened upon orders is proceeding at a steady pace and giving positive results in terms of getting evidence in support of the allegations in the FIR.

For instance, it is stated that the police have found certain bank details of Republic TV in the records of Concorde. As such, it is stated that there are reasonable grounds to believe that upon further interrogating Goswami, more supporting evidence can be gathered.

The police have concluded that for a thorough investigation, it is essential that Goswami be remanded for as many days as possible, which the court may deem fit.