Arnab Goswami booked on charge of hurting religious feelings

Mumbai: An FIR has been registered against Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and two others from the news channel on the charge of hurting religious sentiments by making a derogatory remark regarding a mosque located in suburban Bandra, a Mumbai Police official said on Sunday.

Goswami in his show aired on April 29 displayed picture of the mosque and questioned gathering of a large number of people outside it on April 14, he said quoting the FIR.

Hundreds of migrant workers had gathered in Bandra on April 14 demanding transport arrangements to go back to their native places, hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the extension of the coronavirus-enforced lockdown till May 3.

The FIR was lodged in Pydhonie police station in south Mumbai on Saturday by Irfan Abubakar Sheikh, secretary, Raza Education Welfare Society.

“Arnab tried to target a particular community through his show which was aired on April 29 while the incident had taken place on April 14,” Sheikh told PTI on Sunday.

In the FIR, Sheikh stated that the mosque concerned did not have any connection whatsoever with the crowd that had assembled outside it on April 14.

“Goswami has been booked under sections 153 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) 153-A (Promoting enmity between two groups) 295-A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings), 500 (Punishment for defamation), 511 (Punishment for attempting to commit offences) 120-b (Planning) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code,” the police official said.

Goswami was on April 27 questioned by Mumbai Police in a case against him for allegedly making defamatory statements against Congress president Sonia Gandhi in news shows on the recent mob lynching incident in adjoining Palghar district.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had granted him three-week protection from any coercive action on FIRs against him for alleged defamatory statements against Sonia Gandhi.