Abetment of suicide case: Fadnavis questions MVA for filing charge sheet against Arnab 'hurriedly'

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 5 (ANI): A day after Raigad police filed a charge sheet against Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami in a 2018 abetment of suicide case, Maharashtra Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday questioned the MVA government for the "hurried" move despite the Supreme Court mentioning that "prima facie... it cannot be said that the appellant was guilty of having abetted the suicide".

"Despite the prima facie observations by Hon Supreme Court on applicability of abetment of suicide in #ArnabGoswami case and subsequent application by him before Hon HC for stay on probe, why has MVA Government hurriedly filed the chargesheet?," the BJP leader asked in a tweet, along with a photograph of the SC order copy.

"Isn’t this a mockery of Hon Supreme Court’s judgement? Are they again trying to suppress personal liberty? It seems that MVA Government has not learnt any lesson from the 2 strongly worded judgements delivered on the very same day this govt completed 1 year!" the former chief minister said in another tweet.

The Raigad police filed the charge sheet against Goswami and two others on Friday in connection with the alleged abetment of suicide of interior designer Anvay Naik in 2018. The three persons were granted bail in the matter by the Supreme Court last month.

The apex court had, in its order, noted that prima facie evaluation of the FIR lodged by the Raigad police against Goswami and others does not establish any abetment of suicide charges.

Goswami and two others were arrested on November 4 in connection with the 2018 suicide case. 

The suicide case, in which a closure report was filed in 2019, was reopened after Naik's wife Akshata approached a court. In September this year, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh ordered a re-investigation into the case after a fresh complaint by Naik's daughter. (ANI)