Mumbai: Days after Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami was arrested in the alleged abetment of suicide case of an interior designer, the police inspector who gave a clean chit to Goswami, Suresh Warade, is likely to be suspended, pending inquiry. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sanjay Mohite, Konkan Range, has written a letter to the Mira-Bhayandar Vasai-Virar police commissioner, asking for his suspension. Warade is currently posted at Virar police station as senior police inspector.
Confirming the development, Mira-Bhayandar Vasai-Virar Police Commissioner Sadanand Date said, "We have received the letter late night on Monday and soon, appropriate action will be taken."
According to police, Anvay Naik's wife Akshata had complained about the botched investigation and said that Warade did not investigate rhe case professionally and the closure report was filed hastily, without taking their consent. Following the allegations, Deputy Superintendent of Police ( DySP), Khalapur, carried an investigation.
During the primary investigation, it was revealed that there were loopholes in the investigation which benefited the accused and following the report, departmental action has been recommended against the officer.
Since Warade is now transferred to the newly established Vasai-Virar police commissionerate, its police commissioner alone can take action against him, which is why the DIG had written to him for Warade's suspension. Since the investigation would take time, it would not be right to keep him on duty during this time, the letter stated.
Further, since the case is sensitive, the officer should not be given a chance to intervene in the investigation, the letter said.
Warade, then police inspector at Alibaug police station, had investigated the May 2018 suicide case of interior designer Anvay Naik. Following investigation, Warade filed an A-summary report in the case a year later. The case was closed after the closure report was accepted by the court.
A suicide note was recovered, purportedly written by Naik, in which he alleged that he had ended his life because his payment dues were not cleared by Arnab Goswami of ARG Outlier, Niteish Sarada of Smartworks and Firoz Shaikh of IcastX/Skimedia. All three were arrested last on November 4, after the state government decided to reopen the case.
