In a statement released by Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, he shared how the media channel is being hounded by Mumbai police for refusing to bow down. Goswami said that Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh has ‘intensified’ attack on Republic TV journalists.
Goswami’s statement said that their ‘journalists from Delhi, Noida and Mumbai have been summoned by Mumbai police on 24 hours notice and that those recovering from Covid-19 are asked by Mumbai police to travel and appear in police stations.
“Apparently, he has asked his cops to go all out”, Arnab said. Alleging that the channel is being threatened with more fake cases, Arnab said that his journalists are being asked to “tone down” during interrogations or else face fake cases would be filed against them. “They want to break us” he added. In his statement, Goswami further said that one of the persons interrogating the journalists is a Shiv Sena leader who had cases like extortion pending against him.
Goswami added that his journalists have resolved to fight this and that his network would win win this “battle”. He said that he had taken the legal recourse. Attacking the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra, he said that he was shocked to see that the Thackeray government had used a 1922 British law against his network. Calling for a mass movement against this injustice of the Maharashtra government, Arnab said that being a self-made media entrepreneur, he would fight his battle from Mumbai.
Taking a dig at the Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, Arnab said that the people of Mumbai and the country were with him in fighting the madness and standing together for justice.
The Battle between Republic TV and Mumbai Police
Recently, an FIR was filed by Mumbai police against the entire editorial team of Republic TV allegedly inciting disaffection among Mumbai police and for defaming them. Mumbai had also served notice to the media network seeking details of every single employee and journalist working for the Republic TV and details of every transaction made by the channel since its inception. Republic TV executive editor Niranjan Narayanaswamy was questioned by Mumbai Police for almost 9 hours on 21st October. He was allegedly threatened with imprisonment repeatedly for not revealing the source of the Hansa report.
The Mumbai Police had earlier held a press conference alleging that Republic TV has been indulging in TRP fraud while their own FIR named another channel. After it was revealed that the government of Maharashtra has admitted in court that Arnab and his media house are not the accused the TRP scam investigation, the media house had sent a defamation notice to Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh seeking Rs 200 crore damages for allegedly making “false, malicious and mala fide statements” against them.
The Mumbai Police had started hounding Arnab Goswami after his reportage against the Maharashtra government in the Palghar Sadhus’ mob lynching case.
