10 BBC Employees Have Spent 2 Nights In Office, Tax ‘Survey’ Enters Day 3

As the Income Tax department’s “survey” reached its third day on Thursday, sources stated that at least 10 top personnel of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in Delhi had not yet left for the day.

Following the broadcast of the two-part documentary “India: The Modi Question” on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots, officials copied papers from the news organisation and collected financial information from staff members.

According to a BBC in Delhi, they were airing news as usual and many personnel were doing their work from home.

According to sources, the investigation, which started at the BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai about 11:30 am on Tuesday, has lasted more than 45 hours.

The drill was expected to last for a little longer, according to authorities, who stated that the “precise time frame to deem the operation closed relies solely on the teams on the ground.”

The survey is being carried out to investigate concerns linked to international taxation and the way funds are transmitted between different arms of a multinational firm, officials have revealed.

The survey teams are copying data from electronic devices as part of their work of gathering evidence, and they are looking for answers on financial transactions, the organisational structure, and other specifics regarding the news company.

In response to the PM Modi documentary, opposition parties have condemned the tax department’s move against the public broadcaster with its headquarters in London and called it a “political vendetta.” The BBC has been branded “most corrupt” and guilty of “venomous reportage,” according to the ruling BJP.

Although the Income Tax Agency has not released an official comment regarding the incident, the BBC has stated that it is working with law enforcement.

Following the contentious programme, a petition asking for a blanket ban on the BBC in India was rejected by the Supreme Court last week. The court referred to the motion as “entirely misconceived” and “completely meritless.”

In April, a new batch of petitions contesting the government’s decision to disable connections to the documentary on social media platforms will be heard.  On January 21, the government issued directions to block multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the documentary.

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