I&B Minister Javadekar condemns Arnab Goswami's assault & arrest; Slams Maharashtra govt

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Prakash Javdekar condemned Mumbai Police's attack on Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami and lashed out at the way the press was being oppressed in the state of Maharashtra. 

Amid the witch-hunt on Republic Media Network, over a dozen officers of the Mumbai Police on Wednesday morning reached Editor-In-Chief Arnab Goswami's residence. The Mumbai Police manhandled Arnab Goswami and as many as 10 police personnel entered the residence of Arnab, with the video captured LIVE. They pushed and heckled Arnab demanding he come out.

Union Minister Prakash Javdekar pointed out that this incident reminded the country of the days during the Emergency when thhe press was treated this way. 

READ | SHOCKING: Arnab Goswami Manhandled By Mumbai Police At His House; VISUALS On Camera

Moreover, the Mumbai Police blocked Republic Executive editor Niranjan Narayanswamy and senior associate editor Sanjay Pathak from entering Arnab's residence. 8 police vehicles and at least 40-50 Police personnel are in the building premises of Arnab, many armed. When Niranjan said that it is his right to report, he was thrown out of the building and the Mumbai Police wanted his phone. 

READ | Param Bir Singh's Greatest Falsehood (so Far): 'Arnab Is Mumbai's Biggest Hawala Operator'

This comes after the Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh in his latest fake news plant called Arnab "the biggest hawala operator in the city of Mumbai." Tearing apart the Mumbai Police's ridiculous claim Arnab Goswami stressed that the network sustains only on the blessings of the viewers. Speaking on 'The Debate' on Tuesday, he brought to the viewers' attention a piece of paper that is framed in his office. Mentioning that it showed the first week of television ratings when Republic TV was launched, he recalled that the channel topped the ranking charts then itself.

In total, Republic Media Network's management & editorial staff have endured over 150 hours of questioning in a variety of cases that are beyond the initial fraud TRP matter, including Republic’s Senior Associate Editor Shawan Sen, Executive Editor Niranjan Narayanaswamy Output Editor Sagarika Mitra, Senior Associate Editor Shivani Gupta. The journalists maintained that they won’t reveal their sources.  

The Param Bir Singh-led Mumbai Police's brazen attempt to strike on press freedom has been exposed through the multiple sessions of unnecessary interrogation sessions. Taking it a step further, in a never-seen-before move, the Param Bir Singh-led Mumbai Police filed an FIR against the entire editorial team of the Network, invoking a 1922 British Raj-era law that had last been used in the Emergency-era.

READ | Mumbai Police At Arnab Goswami's Residence; Over A Dozen Officers; No Summons, No Papers