Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami shared a special message for Barkha Dutt on Friday while holding a primetime debate on the NIA court verdict that sent the former Mumbai Police officer Sachin Vaze to 14 days of judicial custody at the Taloja Jail.
Without naming Barkha, Goswami slammed the journalist for celebrating his arrest last year when a team of Mumbai Police officers barged into his house, assaulted, dragged and arrested him. The operation to arrest Mr Goswami was led by suspended police officer Sachin Vaze.
In his prime time that was broadcasted on Friday evening, Arnab Goswami lambasted the Lutyens journalists and media organisations, who he claimed “conspired” for his arrest. At 46:19 in the debate, Arnab indirectly refers to Barkha Dutt and calls her out for celebrating his unlawful arrest and glorifying the acts of corrupt officers like Sachin Vaze, who is now lodged in Taloja Jail.
“The night I was arrested and my family was surrounded with loaded AK-47s, a journalist, quote and unquote, I won’t say a journalist, Hafiz Saeed’s favourite in India, allegedly said that she feels like eating ice cream that night to celebrate. They won’t eat ice creams now. They will eat dust now,” Mr Goswami said while tacitly making a reference to Ms Dutt.
“My targets are many, the media was not misused, it conspired against me. I have much evidence on my hand and I will reveal it in time,” Mr Goswami further added.
Barkha’s tweet of closing the day on which Arnab was arrested with ice cream
It is worth noting that Barkha Dutt had posted a tweet on November 4 evening, stating that it was that kind of the day she would like to close with ice cream. Earlier in the morning, Arnab Goswami was arrested by a contingent of 40 armed Mumbai Police personnel, who had barged into his house and took him into custody.
“This is that day which must close with ice cream,” Ms Dutt had tweeted.
https://twitter.com/BDUTT/status/1324024033323544577?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwIt is also noteworthy to mention that Barkha Dutt’s fan following includes none other than dreaded terrorist and Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed. In an interview with a Pakistan news channel in 2016, Saeed had praised Ms Dutt by saying, “India main Barkha Dutt jaisey log bhee maujood hain bohot acchey baat karneywaley bhee maujood hain (In India good journalists like Barkha Dutt are also present and there are many who make sense).”
Mumbai Police arrests Arnab Goswami in an already closed case
As a part of its witch-hunt against Republic TV, Mumbai Police launched ‘Operation Arnab‘ in the wee hours of 4 November 2020 to arrest its Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami. The Mumbai Police reached Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami’s residence and physically manhandled him as they tried to detain him in a 2018 abetment to suicide case that was already closed.
A team of Mumbai Police arrested Republic TV chief Arnab Goswami after they physically assaulted and dragged him by grabbing his hair. In a shocking act, a large contingent of Mumbai Police was seen present at Goswami’s residence on the day of his arrest. Several videos later emerged on social media websites where police officials were seen manhandling the Republic TV chief.
He was taken to a quarantine centre in Alibaug, from where he was hurriedly shifted to the Taloja Jail days later. The operation was led by former Mumbai Police officer Sachin Vaze, who is now an accused in the Antilia bomb scare case and in the Mansukh Hiren murder.