A team of Raigad police arrested Republic TV editor Arnab Goswami from his residence, for investigation on his alleged role in the death of an architect Anvay Naik.
Architect and interior designer Naik and his mother, committed suicide on May 5, 2018. Anvay Naik had reportedly worked on a project for the construction of the Republic TV studio and office in 2017.
Anvay left a suicide note in which he had mentioned that since his not fully paid by three entities who owed him Rs 5.4 crores, he was unable to pay his creditors. One of those entities allegedly was Arnab Goswami, who, according to the suicide note owed him Rs 83 la fully paid by three entities who owed him Rs 5.4 crores. The other two - Feroz Shaikh and Nitesh Sarda - had allegedly not paid Rs 4 crore and Rs 5 lakh respectively.
"Kindly collect money from them and hold them responsible for our death and pay to creditors," Naik had written in the alleged suicide note. Anvay and his mother were found dead in 2018 at their farmhouse in Alibaug, a seaside town in the Raigad district located south of Mumbai.
A video, that had Anvay’s wife pleading for justice was doing round since recent times.
She confirmed that Anvay left a suicide note blaming Arnab Goswami and two others for his death.
Arnab Goswami of ARG Outlier Media that owns Republic TV, Feroz Shaikh of IcastX, and Nitesh Sarda of Smart Works - allegedly owed him Rs 5.40 crore but were not paying up in spite of repeated pleas and assurances.
Naik wrote in his suicide note that he and his mother were killing themselves because their firm, Concorde Designs, had failed to receive payments from the three entities.
In 2018, a case of abetment of suicide was registered in Alibaug against three people including Arnab Goswami, who was not called to Alibaug in connection with the case.
The Raigad police recorded his statement in the office of the Mumbai Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order). The Raigad police submitted a closure report within two months of the case being registered for lack of evidence.
Naik's family however continued to demand a fair investigation into the case. In May this year, Anvay Naik's daughter Adnya Naik met Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and requested a fresh investigation into the case. Following the meeting, Anil Deshmukh transferred the case to state CID for a fresh investigation.
In October, the case was transferred to the local crime branch of the Raigad district police. A Raigad police team, along with officers of the CID in Mumbai, picked up Arnab Goswami from his home on Wednesday morning. Goswami was presented before a Raigad court
