Wife alleges bills pending, Republic TV says all amounts due under contract paid

Mumbai, May 6 (IE): The Alibaug police registered an abetment to suicide case against three persons, including the editor-in-chief of Republic TV, Arnab Goswami, following the death of a interior designer at his residence on Saturday. Police said Anvay Naik committed suicide by hanging himself at his bungalow in Alibaug. The body of his mother, Kumud, was found near Naik. While it is yet to ascertain how Kumud died, based on the suicide note left behind by Naik, police have registered an abetment to suicide case against Goswami, Feroz Shaikh of IcastX/Skimedia and Niteish Sarda of Smartworks.

Naik’s wife has alleged that he committed suicide, as Republic TV did not pay his dues. A statement issued by Republic TV late Saturday said that certain vested interest groups are running a false and malicious campaign and making false statements and innuendos against Republic TV by exploiting a tragic event involving Naik’s unfortunate demise.

Arnab Goswami

“Republic TV will take strict legal action against anyone indulging in such false propaganda. Republic TV would like to clarify that it had engaged the services of one Concorde Designs Private Limited sometime in December 2016. All amounts due and payable under the contract were paid by Republic TV to Concorde Designs. The details of payment, including cheque numbers, amounts, dates of payment, related correspondence and documentation are available with Republic TV. All such details and evidence will be given to the appropriate authorities as and when required. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mr Naik’s family,” the statement said.

Additional Superintendent of Police (Raigad) Sanjay Patil said, “An FIR has been registered against Arnab Goswami of Republic TV, Feroz Shaikh of IcastX/Skimedia and Niteish Sarda of Smartworks, on the charge of abetment to suicide at Alibaug police station on a complaint by Akshata, the wife of the deceased.” “The deceased, an interior decorator, had worked with the three persons he has named in the suicide note. According to his wife’s compliant, the three did not clear his pending bills, leading Naik to suffer severe losses in his business.”

Patil said while the family stays in Mumbai, Naik owned a bungalow in Alibaug. “On Friday evening, Naik and Kumud had come to the Alibaug bungalow. On Saturday morning, some local residents found the mother’s body on the ground floor while Naik was found hanging on the first floor,” he added.

Following this, local residents rushed the duo to a local hospital, where they were declared brought dead on arrival. “There is still no clarity on the cause of Kumud’s death. We are awaiting the postmortem report,” Patil said. No arrests have been made yet. A police officer said they will check documentation regarding the bills that were allegedly not cleared before deciding the further course of action.