While the Editor-in-chief of India’s biggest media network, Arnab Goswami, continues to spend his 7th night in jail after being assaulted and arrested by Mumbai police on unfounded allegations in a closed 2018 abetment to suicide case, Shabana Saeed, the wife of Bollywood producer Firoz Nadiadwala, who was arrested on November 8 (Sunday) by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for possessing drugs, has been granted bail by a Mumbai court on Tuesday.
According to reports, the bail was granted on a personal bond of Rs 15,000.
A Mumbai Court grants bail to film producer Firoz Nadiadwala’s wife, Shabana Saeed on a personal bond of Rs 15,000. She was arrested by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Mumbai, on November 8th in connection with a drug-related case.
— ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2020
As per reports, the Bollywood filmmaker’s residence in the upscale western suburbs of Mumbai was searched by the narcotics team in connection to the case. It is said that Firoz Nadiadwala was not present at the house when it was raided by the NCB. The investigative team had reportedly recovered ‘some amount of drugs’. The officials had summoned the producer’s wife to their office on Sunday for questioning following which she was arrested by the NCB.
Saeed was booked under sections 8c (produce, manufacture, possess, sell, purchase, transport, warehouse, use, consume, import or export of any narcotic or psychotropic substance), 20B ( punishment for producing, manufacturing, possessing, selling, purchasing, transporting or using cannabis), 27A (punishment for consumption of drugs).
Arnab Goswami continues to pay the price for his honest journalism
It is concerning how a Bollywood celebrity easily gets bail in a serious crime like the possession of drugs, whereas a senior journalist like Arnab Goswami is forced to remains behind bars for the last 7 days, that too for a case which was closed in April 2019, apparently due to lack of evidence.
Without any prior notice or documents, a team of 40 armed policemen barge into Arnab Goswami’s house at 6.30 am on November 4, only to assault him and his family members, drag him and arrest him on unfounded allegations in a closed 2018 abetment to suicide case. Since then, Arnab Goswami’s team of lawyers have been running pillar to post, knocking the doors of the Sessions Court to the Supreme Court, but have remained unsuccessful in getting the senior journalist out of jail.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the interim bail plea of Republic TV’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami tomorrow. Arnab had moved Supreme Court after the Bombay High Court dismissed his petition for interim bail in 2018 abetment to suicide case on Monday. The petition has been filed by Arnab’s lawyer today at 10.30 am. Moreover, the Alibaug Sessions court which had yesterday shifted Arnab Goswami’s regular bail plea hearing for today has once again shifted the hearing for the day after tomorrow (Thursday).
