Mumbai cop files defamation complaint against Arnab Goswami

A deputy commissioner of police(DCP) in Mumbai on Wednesday filed a criminal defamationcomplaint against Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswamifor certain claims made during the coverage of the SushantSingh Rajput death case.

Goswami's lawyers claimed that the tweets referred toin the complaint filed by DCP Abhishek Trimukhe were from afake Twitter account as their client ''is not on social media''.

Trimukhe's complaint, filed before the sessions courthere, also named ARG Outlier Media Private Limited whichowns Republic Media Network, and Goswami's wife, as she is oneof its directors.

''There were some tweets which misrepresented Trimukhe.

He had written about it to the Maharashtra government. Thestate home department gave its sanction (to file acomplaint),'' a senior police official said.

The complaint has been filed under Indian Penal Codesections 499, 500 (defamation) and 501 (printing or engravingmatter known to be defamatory).

Goswami made ''grossly false'', ''malicious'' anddefamatory statements during the coverage of actor SushantSingh Rajput's death by suicide last year, it claimed.

These defamatory statements were telecast on thechannel Republic Bharat during a discussion about phonerecords of actor Rhea Chakraborty, Rajput's girlfriend, itsaid.

''The said defamatory attacks have been made with asingular view of assassinating his (Trimukhe's) officialcharacter and thereby...maliciously and deliberately causingundue humiliation of the Mumbai Police Department,'' thecomplaint said.

Goswami also tweeted the contents of the telecast to alarger audience, the complaint said.

A statement from Goswami's legal team said that ''heis not on social media'' and the tweets to which the complaintreferred was a fake Twitter handle impersonating thejournalist.

''On the other parts, the Republic Media Network willrespond legally as per due process,'' it said.