Income Tax officials landed at the BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai this morning for conducting surveys. The IT department officials along with the police reached the offices in the two cities at around 11 am.
The surveys are being conducted in relation to alleged tax evasion and irregularities pertaining to international tax and TDS transactions, reported Indian Express.
Employees from the BBC offices in Mumbai and Delhi confirmed to BOOM that their offices have been sealed.
BOOM reached the BBC Delhi office to verify the reports.
Security guards at the main gate outside the BBC Delhi office told BOOM that they are not allowing anyone to enter. "At 12:30 PM, IT officials along with 4-5 Delhi cops came to the office," a security guard told BOOM. A police official present outside the gate refused to comment on the same.
Employees of other offices in the same building where the BBC office is are allowed to enter only with their ID cards. BOOM found some employees of other organisations in the same building who are struggling to go inside. “The security guards are asking me to show my identify card despite them knowing that I work here only. I don't know what to do in this situation,” said a journalist who works with Mint.
The action comes weeks after BBC released a documentary series, titled 'India: The Modi Question' which revived some lingering questions on the Gujarat riots of 2002. This led to political debates in India and in the UK. The documentary revealed a previously unpublished report that the British inquiry team sent to the UK government. The report said that Narendra Modi, who was then the state’s chief minister, was “directly responsible for a climate of impunity” that led to the violence in the Gujarat riots.
Jack Straw, who was the UK’s foreign secretary at the time of the violence, said the allegations against Modi undermined his reputation. In the two-part documentary, he says, “These were very serious claims – that Chief Minister Modi had played a pretty active part in pulling back the police and in tacitly encouraging the Hindu extremists.”
India's response to the documentary was dismissive. It was termed as "propaganda" in India. Foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the documentary lacked "objectivity" and showed a "continued colonial mindset".
The Indian government even directed YouTube and Twitter to take down links to the BBC documentary 'India: The Modi Question'. The directions were issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcast, invoking powers under the IT Rules, 2021.
In response to the criticism towards the documentary, the BBC had said that it was "committed to highlighting important issues from around the world." The BBC also claimed that they offered the Indian government the "right to reply," which they declined.
The Editor's Guild of India also expressed concerns regarding the ongoing survey in the BBC office. In a press statement shared by the Guild, it demanded "great care and sensitivities to be shown in all such investigations", so that the rights of journalists and media organisations are not undermined.
This is a developing story.