Guwahati: Assam Finance, Health, and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today said Republic TV Head Arnab Goswami has been arrested by Maharashtra police as he was starting to sniff out a "drug nexus" in the State.
Commenting on the sidelines of a programme held here, Sarma said that a "huge nexus on drugs is merging and Republic is exposing this drugs nexus. Primarily I believe this arrest has been encouraged by the drugs mafia."
Lashing out at the Maharashtra Government, Sarma said, "This arrest proves the frailty of the Maharastra Government. Lots of journalists attack me on their platforms, but I have never taken such a drastic step. The freedom of the fouth pillar is important in a democracy."
Sarma also exuded confidence that the Republic TV Editor-in-Chief will be realeased within a couple of days.
Weighing in on the parallels between the arrests of anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act activist Akhil Gogoi and the Republic TV Head, Sarma said, "Akhil is an activist, and we saw the burning tyres during the CAA protests. Arnab has not encouraged anybody to do something like that. He (Arnab) is exposing corruption, he is exposing the drugs mafia. There is no comparison between the two."
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The Bombay High Court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami. The court rejected Goswami’s plea by saying that no interim relief will be given to him.
The bench of Justice S S Shinde and Justice M S Kaushik said that it will hear both sides and then pass an appropriate order based on the hearing on Friday next.
The bench said that it will hear a plea by Adnya Anvay Naik, daughter of the late architect, seeking a reinvestigation in connection with the FIR of her father’s suicide case.
Arnab Goswami who was arrested on Wednesday in connection with abetment to suicide of an interior designer, was remanded to judicial custody till November 18 by a court in Maharashtra’s Alibag.
Goswami was produced before the Alibag District Magistrate Court along with two other accused — Feroz Shaikh and Nitesh Darda.
The magistrate has directed the officials to take Goswami to the civil hospital for a medical checkup.
The Police sought a 14-day remand of Arnab citing him as an “influential person” who could also tamper with the investigation process.
It is pertinent to mention here that architect and interior designer, Anvay Naik and his mother Kumud Naik died by suicide at their farmhouse in Maharashtra’s Alibag on May 5, 2018.
The designer left behind a suicide note where he named three individuals who he said were responsible for the suicide.
In the note, Naik said that the three individuals in question owed his firm Concorde Designs a total of Rs 5.4 crore which did not allow him to pay his creditors.
The note said that Arnab Goswami owed Naik Rs 83 lakhs, Feroz Shaikh owed the firm Rs 4 crore, and Nitesh Sarda Rs 5 lakh.
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