MUMBAI: A controversial Indian TV news anchor known for inflammatory right-wing rhetoric was arrested Wednesday in connection with the suicide of a designer who worked on his channel's offices, prompting outrage from Hindu nationalist government ministers.
The arrest of Arnab Goswami, a popular but polarising figure in the country's competitive news market, was broadcast live on Republic TV, the channel he co-founded.
Republic TV has been accused in the past of illegally rigging ratings by bribing people to watch the channel.
Mumbai police official Sudhir Anandrao Taware told AFP that Goswami's arrest was in connection with a suicide case from 2018.
Indian media said it concerned the death of an interior designer who had worked on a project for Goswami before apparently taking his own life.
Reports said a suicide note blamed the anchor and two others for not paying fees of 54 million rupees ($723,000).
Goswami's arrest in Maharashtra state, which is ruled by a coalition of parties opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), triggered outrage among government ministers.
Goswami is a vociferous supporter of the BJP.
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