Arnab Goswami and his wife were attacked in their vehicle by two bike-borne assailants while driving home from the Republic TV Studios.
In an unfortunate series of events, a familiar face of prime-time television, ‘journalist’ Arnab Goswami was attacked on his way home from the Republic TV Studio. In a video shared by Republic, Arnab claims that two bike-borne assailants tailed his vehicle and attempted to break the windows and threw bottles and ink. The attack is said to have taken place barely 500 metres from Arnab’s residence at around 12:15 A.M.
Arnab was quick to release a video claiming that the attack was coordinated or ordered by the top brass of the Indian National Congress, holding Sonia Gandhi personally accountable for the attack. More information has emerged with Republic stating in a report that “Sources revealed that the Congress workers who carried out the physical attack on Arnab Goswami’s car in the night had been given a lockdown pass to distribute food, amid COVID”. The two assailants were apprehended by Arnab’s security detail and handed over to the Police who took them into custody. However, this only seems to be the start of an epic saga.
Known for his dramatic and loud brand, or rather take on ‘journalism’, Arnab was quick to jump into the blame game and opinions were quickly divided on the matter with some condemning the attack and others crying foul and accusing him of staging it. It was claimed that the ‘Metadata’ of the video indicated that the video was shot hours before and that Ashoke Pandit, President of the Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association and Sambit of the Bharatiya Janata Party tweeted about the attack before the first tweet by Republic TV. Both of these claims were thwarted by the fact-checking network, Alt News with evidence.
The Indian National Congress has chosen to distance themselves from the attack with Party general secretary, K.C. Venugopal saying “We are very sure Congressmen have nothing to do with this. This is not our tradition, not our culture. We will not get physical against anybody even those who criticise the Congress,”. However, the two assailants have been identified as Prateek Mishra and Arun Borade, members of the Youth Congress in the Sion-Koliwada Assembly constituency.
The FIR which was filed at the NM Joshi Marg police station states that Mishra and Borade blocked Goswami’s vehicle, banged on the windowpane, and threw ink at it. The two have been booked under Sections 341 (Punishment for wrongful restraint) and 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code. In a report, Republic has claimed that the FIR was ‘watered down’ and did not mention the political link of the assailants. Both the Editors Guild of India and Press Council of India released statements condemning the attack and asking for action to be taken. In its statement, the Press Council of India stated: “Every citizen in the country, including a journalist, has the right to express their opinion”. Arnab also faced pushback as petitions were filed in Bombay and Karnataka High Courts, seeking a ban on Republic TV and FIRs registered against him in several States. The Supreme Court, however, granted Arnab three weeks’ protection from any ‘coercive action’ against him by police in a hate case. The Supreme Court is only convening to hear “extremely urgent” cases and many expressed vexation at Arnab’s ‘VIP treatment’.
Perhaps the one agreeable point is that an attack on a journalist is an attack on free-speech and needs to be treated with utmost importance. The following line from the statement by the Press Council of India puts its best – “Violence is not the answer even against bad journalism”. Put against the backdrop of journalists and activists being booked under the sedition law and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and shelved pleas, Arnab may not have it as bad, as he plays ringmaster to the circus that is his ‘Banana Republic’ that is backed by controversy and hate.
Feature Image Credits: The Free Press Journal
Tashi Dorjay Sherpa