Mumbai Police issue notice to Arnab Goswami over ‘communal’ comments

Team Udayavani, Oct 14, 2020, 11:01 AM IST

Image: Twitter/ArnabGoswami

Mumbai: Mumbai Police on Tuesday issued a show-cause notice to Republic TV’s Editor In Chief Arnab Goswami over his alleged communal comments during his news shows on Palghar lynching case and the Bandra migrants gathering incident in April this year.

The notice has been sent under section 108 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, asking Goswami to show reasons as to why a bond of good behaviour should not be taken from him, a police official said.

He has been asked to appear before the Special Executive Magistrate and Assistant Commissioner of Police, Worli Division on Friday at 4 pm, the official added.

On April 21, Goswami conducted debate show `Puchhta Hain Bharat’ on Republic Bharat TV on the issue of mob-lynching of two monks and their driver at Palghar in Maharashtra.

The show-cause notice said during the debate (in Hindi), Goswami asked whether it was a crime to be Hindu and wear saffron clothes and whether people would have remained silent had the victims been non-Hindu.

A case under IPC sections 153 (giving provocation to cause riot) and 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion) and other sections was registered against Goswami following the program, it added.

His comments could create communal disharmony and hatred between Hindus and Muslims, and the show evoked strong reactions on YouTube, the notice said.

Only because of the coronavirus pandemic there was no communal violence but the comments posed a threat to communal integrity and law and order, so as a preventive action the police had now started the process of taking an undertaking for good behaviour from Goswami under section 108 (1) (A), the official said.

A bond of Rs 10 lakh for the duration of one year with one guarantor “who is well-known in society and who can control his behaviour” will be taken from Goswami, he added.

The notice also mentioned that before the Palghar incident, Goswami had allegedly made provocative comments about a crowd of migrant labourers which gathered outside Bandra Railway Station here during the lockdown. A police case was registered against him in this case too.

The Mumbai police recently also launched a probe against Republic TV and two other channels for alleged manipulation of Television Rating Points.