The income tax department, on Thursday, conducted raids against two prominent media groups. Citing multiple charges of tax evasion, the department searched the premises of Dainik Bhaskar and Uttar Pradesh-based Hindi news channel Bharat Samachar.

The searches in the case of Dainik Bhaskar are being conducted in Bhopal, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Noida and some other locations in the country.

On the other hand, the premises of TV news channel Bharat Samachar group and its promoters and staffers in Lucknow were similarly searched.

Also, Bharat Samachar TV said on its official Twitter handle that searches are being conducted at the “house of its Editor-in-chief Brajesh Mishra, state head Virendra Singh, houses of some employees and the channel office.”

No official statement has been issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) yet but tax officials confirmed that the searches are underway.

In a message posted on its website, Dainik Bhaskar said the government raids have come against it as it put out the “true picture of the government’s inefficiency before the country during the second wave of Covid-19.”

It said the raids were carried out at residences of many staffers, they seized the mobile phones of those present in the offices and they were not being allowed to go out. “Officials involved in the raids said this was part of the process and they will be released after panchmana proceedings are done,” it said. 

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal condemned the raids conducted by the IT department.

"Income tax raids conducted on Dainik Bhaskar and Bharat Samachar are an attempt to scare the media. Their message is clear- those who speak against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not be spared. This kind of thinking is very dangerous. Everyone should raise their voice against it,” Kejriwal said in his tweet posted in Hindi.

Rajasthan chief minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said the raids are an attempt to stifle the media, adding that the Modi government is incapable of accepting even the slightest criticism. “This is the fascist mentality of BJP which does not like to see the mirror of truth in democracy,” Gehlot tweeted.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee took to Twitter wherein she said, "The attack on journalists & media houses is yet another BRUTAL attempt to stifle democracy. #DainikBhaskar bravely reported the way @narendramodi ji mishandled the entire #Covid crisis and led the country to its most horrifying days amid a raging pandemic."

In response to these jibes and allegations, at a Cabinet briefing in New Delhi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said, “Agencies do their own work, we don't interfere in their functioning.”

Slamming the opposition, Thakur said, “I would also like to say that facts need to be found before reporting about any incident. Sometimes lack of information is misleading.”

Image courtesy: Business Standard