BBC offices in India searched for second day as employees ‘told to cooperate’

Income tax authorities say the ‘survey’ is looking into BBC’s financial details

Indian authorities searched BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai for a second consecutive day on Wednesday, despite outrage at the Narendra Modi government which is accused of attacking press freedom.

The raids – described as a “survey” by tax officials – are part of a probe into “deliberate non-compliance with the transfer pricing rules” and its “vast diversion of profits”, reported The Indian Express.

The searches will also look into “manipulation of prices for unauthorised benefits, including tax advantages”.

It comes days after the BBC aired a two-part documentary investigating Mr Modi’s role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, while he was the state’s chief minister. India: The Modi Question was broadcast only in the UK, but India’s government acted to block it from being seen elsewhere, invoking emergency powers under information and technology laws and ordering social media companies to remove clips of the programme.

The federal government termed the documentary a “propaganda piece” while the BBC maintained that its film adhered to the “highest editorial standards.”

In a statement to The Independent, a BBC spokesperson said the corporation is cooperating with the searches.

“The income tax authorities remain at the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai. Many staff have now left the building but some have been asked to remain and are continuing to cooperate with the ongoing enquiries,” the spokesperson said.

“We are supporting our staff during this time and continue to hope to have this situation resolved as soon as possible.

“Our output and journalism continues as normal and we are committed to serving our audiences in India.”

A mail circulated to employees also asked BBC employees in India to cooperate with the tax officials, reported NDTV.

The email asked employees to answer questions relating to their salaries but not their personal income, the report said.

Income tax authorities have said that the “survey” is looking into the BBC’s financial details, including balance sheets and accounts.

“We needed some clarifications and for that our team is visiting the BBC office and we are carrying out a survey. Our officers have gone to check account books, these are not searches,” income tax sources were quoted as telling NDTV.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defended the raids and said that the tax authorities should be allowed to do their work.

“The BBC indulges in anti-India propaganda,” BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said.

The raids have been roundly condemned by media watchdog groups as well as India’s opposition parties.

Amnesty International called the survey an “affront to free speech”.

“These raids are a blatant affront to freedom of expression. The Indian authorities are clearly trying to harass and intimidate the BBC over its critical coverage of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party,” it said.

“The overbroad powers of the Income Tax Department are repeatedly being weaponized to silence dissent. Last year, tax officials also raided the offices of a number of NGOs, including Oxfam India. These intimidatory acts, which undermine the right to freedom of expression in India, must end now.”

The Modi government has earlier come under criticism for using allegations of financial misconduct to target its critics, including NGOs, journalists, news organisations and politicians.

On Wednesday, BJP spokesperson Sanju Verma lashed out at the Editor’s Guild of India and accused it of “legitimising tax evasion” and said that the BBC is not above the rule of law.

Meanwhile, US state department spokesperson Ned Price said that it is aware of the searches.

“We are aware of the search of BBC offices in Delhi by Indian tax authorities. I would say more broadly that we support the importance of free press around the world,” he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, the UK Foreign Office also said that it is monitoring the situation.

Last year, Mr Modi received a clean chit from India’s Supreme Court as it dismissed a plea challenging the findings of a Special Investigation Report on the 2002 Gujarat riots which had cleared him and 62 other senior government officials.

The raids on the BBC come as India is hosting the G20 summit and has proclaimed itself to be the “mother of democracy.”

According to the World Press Freedom Index, released in May last year, India’s ranking dropped to 150 from the previous year’s 142, among 180 nations.