Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami has filed an anticipatory bail plea before a sessions court in a case registered last week against him by the NM Joshi Marg police station for obstructing them during his arrest from his Lower Parel residence in the Anvay Naik suicide abetment case.
His advocate Shyam Kalyankar said that the plea has been filed on the grounds that the arrest is illegal given that the Alibag police had already filed an 'A Summary’ report in the case.
The plea has also mentioned, he added, that both the police and they have a video recording of the manner in which Goswami was arrested and said that the offence under Sec 353 pertaining to assault or criminal force on a public servant deterring him from discharging his city is not made out.
“The police have brought AK-47 when they came to arrest him in front of around 40 people. He was literally lifted out of his home. He was protesting the arrest as it is illegal. We were speaking the truth and have a right to protest,” said Kalyankar.
He had been booked for the offences under the IPC pertaining to assault or criminal force on a public servant to deter him from discharging his duty, intentional insult to provoke breach of peace and the offence of criminal intimidation.
The plea, which was filed on Tuesday, is scheduled to be heard today. It was apparently filed anticipating arrest in the case in the event of release on bail in the Anvay Naik abetment of suicide case. Goswami managed to secure an interim bail on Wednesday from the Supreme Court in the case.
In the present case filed by the senior police inspector of the NM Joshi Marg police station, Arnab, his wife Samyabrata Goswami, their son and two unknown persons are the accused. As per the complaint, when the police went to arrest Arnab in a case, he kept them waiting outside his door for over an hour and his family members and himself physically resisted his arrest. His wife allegedly refused to sign a document informing her of Arnab’s arrest and later signed it, but tore the signed portion on being asked by Arnab to do so.
