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Republic TV editor Arnab Goswami was arrested from his Mumbai residence on Wednesday morning by the Maharashtra police, in connection with abetment to suicide.
In 2018 Anvay Naik and his mother Kumud Naik committed suicide because of non-payment of dues worth Rs 5.40 crore from Arnab, Feroz Shaikh and Neetish Sarda
Anvay named all three of them in his suicide note, but the case was closed in April 2019, citing lack of evidence
The case recently reopened in May this year after the daughter of deceased appealed to Maharashtra home minister for reinvestigation
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READ: Is Journalism Dead?
Dual face of public exposed in Arnab arrest
Arnab Goswami arrest by Mumbai police has made clear that no one is above the law,
Republic TV which was screaming for the justice of Sushant Singh Rajput death and falsely implicated rhea as the abettor of his suicide
Even though he hasn’t left any note accusing rhea as the reason for his suicide
But the same channel remained silent when an interior designer left a note mentioning Arnab and two others for his suicide.
We keep silent when any infamous person commits suicide to take for example an entrepreneur who might have a lot of potentials.
But we instantly get vocal for someone who his famous, but where are our emotions when someone like Anvay naik commit suicide,
why are we not justifying Arnab arrest, in spite of the fact that Anvay had mentioned him as the main reason for his suicide?
To those who are terming this as a curb on freedom of the press, I think they are unaware of, on what grounds Arnab was arrested or we can say witch-hunted.
READ: Responsibilities of society in preventing suicide
What is the abetment of suicide?
Our constitution makes abetment of suicide a punishable offence under Section 306 of the IPC, it prescribes either a jail term of up to ten years or a fine or both.
The IPC also has a separate chapter on abetment and defines who is an abettor under Section 108.
Abetment is defined as including inciting, engaging in a plot or supporting in performing the offence.
Laws that are governed in section 306
Section 306 perceives Abetment of suicide as a serious offence and is cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable.
A cognizable offence is an offence during which the policeman as per the primary schedule or under the other law for the nonce effective, can arrest the convict without a warrant and may start an investigation without the permission of the court.
A non-bailable offence is one during which the grant of Bail isn’t a matter of right. Here the Accused will need to apply to the court
Compoundable offences can be compromised, i.e. the complainant can comply with taking back the charges slashed against the accused, but non – compoundable offences are the more serious during which either party cannot compromise.
READ: Why police should work independently?
Justice should be served in Arnab case
Arnab was arrested by Maharashtra police for suicide case and not for any wrong or misinterpreting journalism by him on Maharashtra government and I think justice should be served to the deceased.
So it is not any curb on freedom on speech or misuse of powers by the state government or so-called emergency as termed by many leaders
No one is above the law whether he is a journalist or any minister
Hours after Arnab was arrested, Anvay’s wife Akshata and daughter Adnya addressed the media in Mumbai. Adnya recalled how Naik’s final days, saying, “My dad had put all his potential into completing his last project and only because of Arnab Goswami my father lost everything… even his life.”
Akshata said, “A common person trust the police. When we approach them with our complaints, we anticipate that they will do justice on it. But the way the police responded in the past had made us lose all our trust in them,”
Adnya while talking to reporters said “We do not want to make this a political issue. we have already lost two family members. We want people to know how influential people like Arnab Goswami get away with these things. The arrest should have been made much earlier,”
Conclusion
We should not start supporting anyone only because he is famous our he fits our idealogy, in this case, Arnab is arrested because of pushing a man into suicide by not paying his money.
Its nowhere an attack on freedom of speech and the guilty must be punished
when we Indians can get too much emotional for Sushant’s suicide, then why are we terming Arnab arrest for as an attack on freedom of speech
and why no one raised their voice when many journalists were arrested or detained for actual reporting of news. (read here)
India ranked 142 out of 180 in The World Press Freedom Index and we should focus on that and not on the case where justice is being served to the victim.
