Arnab Goswami reaches Mumbai Police Station for questioning

Guwahati: Arnab Goswami, the face of Republic TV, arrived at the N M Joshi police station in Mumbai for questioning in connection with the coverage of the Bandra gathering during the COVID-19 lockdown. 

Although Goswami had flown petitions in the High Court demanding the quashing of FIRs that had been filed at the NM Joshi Marg and Pydhonie police stations, the court denied him an exemption. 

Goswami has been summoned by the Mumbai Police for allegedly giving a "communal angle" to Bandra migrant gatherings over an FIR that was filed against the journalist on May 2. This is his second interrogation in 45 days. Meanwhile, Republic's group CFO S Sundaram was summoned for interrogation three hours earlier in the same case

It may be recalled here that in April, Goswami was questioned by police for over 12 hours in relation to an FIR that was filed against him for allegedly communalizing the Palghar mob lynching case and his alleged crude remarks against the Congress head, Sonia Gandhi.

On 19 May, Goswami requested the Supreme Court to transfer the investigations into the cases against him from Maharashtra Police to the CBI, but the request was denied by the apex court that contended that his cases did not satisfy the grounds for ordering a transfer.

The Supreme Court judgment stated, "The displeasure of an accused person about the manner in which the investigation proceeds or an unsubstantiated allegation (as in the present case) of a conflict of interest against the police conducting the investigation must not derail the legitimate course of law and warrant the invocation of the extraordinary power of this Court to transfer an investigation to the CBI..

Harish Salve, a senior advocate who was representing Arnab had pointed out that one of the police officers who had interrogated Goswami had tested positive for the coronavirus.

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