MUMBAI: Vendetta of the Maharashtra Government against Republic TV chief Arnab Goswami continues unabated. In yet another brazen attempt to harass that Republic TV Editor-in-chief who was arrested earlier in the day in an old closed case, an FIR has been registered against Arnab Goswami for allegedly assaulting an on-duty lady police officer when she, accompanied by 30 to 40 police personnel reached the journalist’s house early in the morning today to arrest him.
Arnab Goswami was arrested by Raigad police in a 2018 shut case which was re-opened on the directions of the Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. The irony of the situation is that despite several videos, which have emerged during the course of the day, show how Arnab had been physically assaulted by a horde of police officers who barged into the senior journalist’s house at around 6:30 in the morning today and dragged Arnab into the police van, the FIR which has now been registered against Arnab, states that he was the one who assaulted a police officer.
It may be noted that none of the videos which have surfaced so far shows Arnab Goswami assaulting any police officer. He was surrounded by 30-40 cops armed with AK-47 Assault riffles, therefore it is difficult to imagine how he could have assaulted a lady police officer in that situation. Meanwhile, immense support for all over the country and the world has been pouring in for the senior journalist. Hashtags like #IndiawithArnab and #ArnabGoswami has been trending on Twitter. Infuriated citizens in places like Delhi, Bhopal, Guwahati and Jammu have hit the streets demanding that Arnab Goswami is released immediately and the Mumbai Police officers who physically assaulted Arnab be removed.