The IPI global network condemns the Indian government’s decision to raid the offices of BBC in New Delhi and Mumbai. The Modi government must stop attempting to silence independent media by harassing and intimidating journalists. 

Authorities from the Income Tax Department sealed BBC offices on February 14 as part of an investigation into tax violation allegations, according to the BBC. Officials searched laptops and mobile phones used by BBC editorial and administrative staff and questioned employees about financial transactions. At least ten BBC employees were forced to sleep in the offices, according to reports. 

The raid comes three weeks after the Indian government used emergency powers to block clips of a BBC documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from being accessed online. The BBC documentary, “India: The Modi Question,” explores a report by the United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office focused on the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat state, during which more than 1,000 people were killed, most of them Muslim. The documentary addressed concerns by human rights groups, who have questioned the leadership of Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat at the time, with some claiming he was responsible for the “climate of impunity” that enabled the violence.

“This is not the first time that the Modi government has used allegations of tax irregularities to target critical media and intimidate journalists”, IPI Director of Advocacy Amy Brouillette said. “Since 2014, the Modi government has conducted numerous raids targeting journalists, think tanks, and civil society groups critical of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government. The systematic misuse of government agencies to crackdown on any perceived dissent has led to an alarming decline in fundamental freedoms. India must take more seriously its responsibility as the world’s largest democracy and respect press freedom.” 

The Modi government carried out raids against Newslaundry and Newsclick in September 2021 for posting news critical of government policies and against Hindi-language media outlets Dainik Bhaskar Group and Bharat Samachar in July 2022 following the outlets’ investigative reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic.