India News | Arrest of Arnab Goswami: BJP MP Requests Press Council to Form Probe Panel

New Delhi, Nov 4 (PTI) Describing the arrest of Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami as "a naked exhibition of the state power", a BJP Rajya Sabha member on Wednesday urged the Press Council of India to convene an emergency meeting and form a committee to investigate the "coercive attitude" of the Maharashtra government.

Rakesh Sinha, who is also a member of the Press Council of India, urged council chairman Justice C K Prasad (retd) to also immediately send a team to meet Goswami.

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Goswami was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly abetting the suicide of a 53-year-old interior designer in 2018, a police official said.

"The Press Council of India must play its role at this critical juncture. It is our moral and constitutional duty to safeguard freedom of press and interests of journalists," Sinha said in his letter.

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The action of Maharashtra police, he said, is a "severe blow" on the freedom of press.

The way Goswami was arrested from his residence in Mumbai is a "naked exhibition of the state power. This fascist action must be condemned by the Press Council of India. The tendency to silence journalists by the use of coercive power poses a serious threat to India's democracy," he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)