By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, Dec 6:
The Raigad police have filed 1914 page charge sheet against Republic TV Editor-in- Chief Arnab Goswami and two others, in the 2018 Anvay Naik suicide case, before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Alibaug. The matter has been posted for hearing on 16 December.
The police have dropped a key charge against Goswami and two others- Feroz Shaikh of “IcastX/Skimedia” and Nitish Sarda of “Smartworks”, accused in the Anvay Naik suicide case. The dropping of Section 34 (act done by several people in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the accused assumes significance on two counts.
First, the first information report (FIR) filed by the police soon after the incident in 2018 added the said section claiming that the three accused had indeed conspired together to drive Naik to commit suicide in April 2018. Second, when the case was closed in 2019, the earlier investigating officer had mentioned that they could not successfully establish that the three accused had worked in unison resulting in the suicide of Naik.
Interior designer Anvay Naik had mentioned Goswami, Feroz Shaikh, and Nitish Sarda as responsible for his suicide. According to the police, in a purported suicide note by Naik, he had claimed that he was not paid Rs 5.40 crore for the work that he had done for the accused.
Although Section 34 of the IPC has been dropped, the charge sheet includes Section 306 (abetment to suicide) and Section 109 (punishment for abetment) against the trio. As many as 65 persons are named as witnesses in the charge sheet. Of the 65 witnesses mentioned in the charge sheet, the police had already recorded statements of 50 witnesses and nine of which were recorded before the magistrate.
Police Inspector Jamil Shaikh, who is probing the case, has maintained that they have statements of several employees of Naik, bank statements, and emails to establish that it is indeed non-payment of dues by the accused that led Naik to commit suicide. Another investing official, quoted by the same report, has claimed that they have “strong evidence” in the form of some communication between the accused and Naik, where the latter had categorically stated that it would be difficult for him to continue living if they failed to pay him for the work he had done for them.
A “dying declaration” by Naik, which is in the prosecution’s possession, could be used during the trial. Sources claimed that Naik’s handwriting has been matched with the writing in the suicide note, and the forensic report indicated that he was not under pressure while writing it.
The three accused were arrested by Alibaug police on 04 November, 2020 in connection with the case, but they secured bail from the Supreme Court on 11 November 2020.
Meanwhile, Goswami has maintained that the case closed in 2019, due to the lack of evidence, was opened in 2020 only to target him. Goswami has also moved the Bombay high court on Thursday seeking a stay to the filing of the charge sheet. The petition is likely to be heard next week.
The case was closed in 2019 under the BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra, and was opened in November 2020 under the triumvirate government run by Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party, and the Congress.
