New Delhi: The Income Tax Department’s inspection continues at the BBC offices in Mumbai and Delhi. Some BBC journalists who arrived at the office yesterday are still in the office. The BBC has asked employees to work from home. The action follows a raid on the BBC offices by the Income Tax Department.
In a mail sent to BBC staff, everyone except the Broadcast Department was instructed to work from home. BBC employees were asked to cooperate with the Income Tax Department officials and answer the questions accurately.
The BBC had earlier announced that it would continue its operations in India and continue to do media work for the audience. Yesterday morning at 11.30 am, the officials of the Income Tax Department started the inspection at the Delhi and Mumbai offices of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The raid was based on complaints of irregularities including in international taxes.
State Department spokesman Ned Price responded that we support the importance of a free press around the world. There has been no official response from the UK. Tax officials had started the survey on Tuesday morning. It then announced that it would focus on the accounts today and question the BBC’s senior management.
Opposition parties and senior journalists have accused the probe of being in retaliation for the BBC’s release of a documentary on the Gujarat genocide. The Opposition and the Editors’ Guild came forward to criticize the inspection. The Editors’ Guild has expressed concern over the Centre’s approach against media organizations that criticize the government.
The BBC series India: The Modi Question was pulled from public air last month. The Center used emergency powers under the IT Act to block YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the documentary. The government had also slammed the documentary as “hate propaganda.”
Protesting what they called censorship, opposition leaders and students organized public screenings of the documentary, sparking clashes on several campuses. Last week, the Supreme Court struck down a demand to ban the BBC from India over the documentary.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS: taxmen at bbc offices for second day most employees asked to work from home