The state home department led by NCP’s Anil Deshmukh drafted a high-level 40-member team led by Kokan range inspector general Sanjay Mohite to arrest Arnab Goswami in the 2018 suicide abetment case.
The preparations for “Operation Arnab” began a few days after Raigad police secured permission to reopen the probe into the alleged suicides of architect Anway Naik and his mother Kumud in 2018. In all, 40 personnel were drawn from Mumbai and Raigad police.
Mohite drafted the plan to arrest Arnab while the responsibility to execute it was entrusted to high-profile encounter specialist Sachin Vaze. “For the team led by Mohite, it was a challenging task in view of the powerful Arnab. We acted very carefully, every member of the team observed restraint despite provocation,’’ a senior cabinet member told TOI.
The cabinet member said after the preliminary probe, it was confirmed that Arnab was allegedly involved in the abetment to suicide case. “Our people made several rounds of the building where Arnab was residing. It was a secret operation. We were fearing that if the information is leaked, Arnab may flee the city to avoid arrest,’’ he said.Arnab was arrested in the early hours on Wednesday. Police personnel chose the morning hours to ensure he was at home. “It was a planned operation, even small issues were taken care of. It was decided who will knock at the door, who will talk to Arnab and his family members and what the course of action would be if he resists. Arnab did resist. However, after Vaze explained to him the legal position if he failed to join the investigation, it was a smooth affair,’’ he said.
Home minister Anil Deshmukh said under the Fadnavis government, all out efforts had been made to wind up the case. “When I listened to the widow and her daughter, I got a shock of my life. I could not believe that this can happen in Maharashtra. We will take the case to its logical end,’’ he said.
Launching a frontal attack on the BJP, particularly Fadnavis, Deshmukh said the BJP politicised the Sushant Singh Rajput suicide though there was no evidence while here despite a clear suicide note, Fadnavis had suppressed it. “We will ensure justice to the Naik family,” Deshmukh said. ( TOI )
