At least one of the two senior Mumbai Police officials who were a part of the team that questioned Republic TV founder and editor Arnab Goswami has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, according to Goswami’s lawyer Harish Salve. Salve made this claim during a hearing held in the Supreme Court.
Goswami was questioned by the police for over 12 hours on 28 April over an FIR filed against him for his comments in the Palghar mob lynching case and his comments on Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
“In a police station 12 hours interrogation was done. He said [to the police officers], the kind of questions you want to ask, why can’t you ask me on video conferencing,” argued Harish Salve in court, reported Live Law.
‘Arm-Twisting Tactic’ Claims Arnab Goswami’s Lawyer
Arguing on Goswami’s behalf in SC, senior advocate Harish Salve questioned the validity of a fresh FIR lodged against the editor of Republic TV in connection with the Bandra migrant labourers incident on 14 April. Salve claimed that the nature of the FIR showed that it was an arm-twisting tactic.
Salve then argued that he had no problem if the Palghar incident remark case is transferred to the CBI for investigation, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, however, objected to this.
Goswami was accused of “deliberately making inflammatory statements” and using derogatory language against Sonia Gandhi in his show that was telecast. The FIRs were filed in Maharashtra, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. They were, however, clubbed by the court and moved to Mumbai for investigation.
As part of the probe, Goswami was asked to appear at the NM Joshi Marg police station for questioning. Days later, he was once again booked for allegedly inciting communal hatred during his show on Republic Bharat by targeting a mosque in Bandra, Mumbai, that had no link to the migrant protests that took place in the area on 14 April.
On 4 May, the Maharashtra government filed an application in the Supreme Court on behalf of the Deputy Commissioner of Mumbai Police, alleging that Goswami is ‘hampering the investigation’ against him by trying to ‘browbeat’ the police through his shows on Republic TV channels.
The state government's application also alleged that on the day Goswami went to the police station for questioning, he used his media team to create trouble and threw his weight around in the police station.
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