Tax officials search BBC offices in India amid Modi documentary fallout

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) – Indian income tax authorities raided the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) offices in New Delhi and Mumbai on Tuesday for what the government described as "surveys" to look for irregularities.

According to BBC staffers who were present during the Income Tax Department officials' raid in the morning, the officials took all employees' phones and blocked everyone's entry and exit from the two offices.

Local news channels reported that the searches are part of a tax evasion investigation into the BBC's business operations in India, and several accounts and financial files are seized.

Income tax officials raided the two offices just weeks after the BBC aired a documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the United Kingdom on Jan. 17 and 24.

India: The Modi Question is a two-part documentary series about Modi's leadership as western Gujarat state chief minister during the 2002 riots that killed over 1,000 people, mostly Muslims.

Though the documentary was not released in India, the government blocked all content related to it on social media, calling it a propaganda piece designed to promote a particular discredited narrative.

The income tax officials remained in the two offices until the report was filed on Tuesday night.

The BBC said in a statement that it is fully cooperating with the authorities. “We hope to have this situation resolved as soon as possible,” it added.

Opposition parties, media organizations, and international media watchdogs have condemned the government’s action.

“The IT raid at BBC’s offices reeks of desperation and shows that the Modi government is scared of criticism," said opposition Congress party General Secretary KC Venugopal in a tweet.

“We condemn these intimidation tactics in the harshest terms. This undemocratic and dictatorial attitude cannot go on any longer,” he added.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), based in New York, said in a statement: “Raiding the BBC’s India offices in the wake of a documentary criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi smacks of intimidation.”

Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator said, “Indian authorities have used tax investigations as a pretext to target critical news outlets before, and must cease harassing BBC employees immediately, in line with the values of freedom that should be espoused in the world’s largest democracy.”

However, Anurag Thakur, a minister in the Modi cabinet, while defending the government action said: “The Income Tax Department conducts surveys from time to time where irregularities are found, and when survey is completed, they give information. When this survey of IT will be completed, we’ll give you all that information in detail.”