Weeks after documentary row, BBC India offices ‘surveyed’ by IT dept

Officials called the action as a “survey”, not raid or searches.

New Delhi | Updated: 14 February, 2023 1:32 pm IST

BBC India's offices in Delhi and Mumbai have been 'surveyed' by the IT department.

Offices of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) were “surveyed” by the Income Tax department in New Delhi and Mumbai on Tuesday, weeks after it aired a controversial documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Sources in the IT department said that its teams did not visit BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai to conduct any “raid” or searches.

“These are survey actions. Teams have visited their offices to verify some details,” a source familiar with the matter told The New Indian.

Last month, Britain government-funded BBC released a two-part documentary on the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat, the 2020 anti-citizenship law protests, and the abrogation of Article 370, featuring PM Modi.

Reacting to the IT department’s action, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “We are demanding for joint parliamentary committee (JPC) enquiry over Adani issue from government and the government is behind the BBC.”

Coining a popular phrase, the Congress leader called the action “ill-conceived”.

Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal condemned the IT department’s action, calling it “intimidation tactics in the harshest terms”.

“The IT raid at BBC offices reeks of desperation and shows that the Modi government is scared of criticism. We condemn these intimidation tactics in the harshest terms. This undemocratic and dictatorial attitude cannot go on any longer,” he Venugopal tweeted.

(This is a developing story)