Published 09:40 IST, November 4th 2020
Arnab Goswami assaulted & arrested; BJP's Jay Panda shreds police for Undeclared Emergency
BJP MP Baijayant Jay Panda slammed the Mumbai Police and Maharashtra government for physically assaulting Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami
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BJP MP Baijayant Jay Panda slammed the Mumbai Police and Maharashtra government for physically assaulting Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami on Wednesday morning and remarked that this is what 'an undeclared emergency looked like'.
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.
Expressing shock and disgust over the Mumbai Police actions, Baijayant Jay Panda pointed out the unending harassment faced by Republic Media Network from the Mumbai Police. Further, Jay Panda highlighted that Arnab would have appeared had he been summoned as he 'had been doing so'.
'Undeclared Emergency'
Disconcerting scenes of @republic tv editor Arnab Goswami manhandled by Mumbai police carrying assault weapons. Unending harrassment by Maharastra govt of one channel: "We wd've come voluntarily if summoned, as we have been doing." THIS is what an undeclared emergency looks like.
— Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) November 4, 2020
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.
#BREAKING | Mumbai Police at Arnab Goswami's residence; Tune in to watch #LIVE here - https://t.co/jghcajZuXf pic.twitter.com/aEK6AbjazP
— Republic (@republic) November 4, 2020
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.
#ParamBirLatestPlant | Viewers, if you come to my office you will see this piece of paper framed. This is the first week of ratings when Republic was launched. It tells me that we live on the blessings of the people, you cannot get that with a hawala transaction: Arnab pic.twitter.com/ozF6BtGS6v
— Republic (@republic) November 3, 2020
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.
09:40 IST, November 4th 2020