Mumbai Police issues notice to Arnab Goswami over Palghar lynching coverage

Mumbai : Mumbai Police has issued a notice to Republic TV chief Arnab Goswami over his channel's coverage on the Palghar lynching case, accusing him of instigating communal tension in connection with the death of two sadhus in Palghar district. This comes at a time when Republic TV is already fighting the accusation of tweaking ratings through bribery for bigger advertising revenue.

Mr Arnab Goswami has been issued a show cause notice by Mumbai Police and asked to appear before the Additional Commissioner of Police in Worli on October 16.

According to a news report, Mr Goswami has also been asked to sign a bond which bars him from airing provocative content.

The sadhus were beaten to death in April by a mob after rumours that they were kidnapping children to harvest organs, including kidneys.

On April 21, Mr Goswami had conducted talk show "Puchhta Hain Bharat" on the incident where he asked if it was a crime to be Hindu and wear saffron and whether the people would have remained silent had the victims been non-Hindu, the show cause notice said.

A case under IPC sections 153 (giving provocation to cause riot) and 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion) and other sections was registered against him following the program, it added.

The Mumbai Police also mentioned that the riots were averted only because of the fact that lockdown was in place at that time.