NUJ (I) President, Secretary General condemn arrest of journalist Arnab Goswami
By A K Sahoo
Bhubaneswar, Nov. 3: The National Union of Journalists (India) on Wednesday strongly condemned the illegal arrest of noted journalist and Editor-in-Chief of Republic Media Network Arnab Goswami.
“The forcible entry of the Mumbai police into the residence of Mr Goswami without serving him any prior notice or summon to appear before it is a clear violation Supreme Court Guidelines. Besides, it appears an attempt to subdue and throttle the freedom of speech and expression by misuse of the police force by the Maharashtra Government,” Mr Ras Bihari, President of NUJ (I) and Mr Prasanna Kumar Mohanty, Secretary General of NUJ (I), said in press statement.
The misuse of police force to gag media, the fourth estate of democracy, is highly dangerous, they said.
“Television footages show Arnab Goswami, manhandled by the police, is desperately pleading for medical advice and praying for seeking legal opinion from his lawyers. But he was denied that opportunity. This is highly inhumane, heartless and illegal, too,” the NUJ (I) top office-bearers observed.