New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a case against the BBC India for alleged irregularities related to foreign funding under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), said officials. This comes after the British broadcasters had published a controversial documentary titled 'India: The Modi Question' which was criticised by the Indian government for tarnishing the country's image.
Sources said the editorial and administrative departments of BBC have been asked to appear before ED. The agency has asked for documents and will record statements under the provisions of the FEMA, said an official. The Income Tax Department had earlier conducted a survey after which, which ED had ordered an inquiry into the matter and summons were also sent to the BBC. Officials said investigations were on.
In February, the Income Tax officials had conducted search operations at BBC's New Delhi and Mumbai offices. Prior to which, it had also directed for blocking the YouTube videos and Twitter posts that had links to the controversial documentary on the social media. Infact, the government had ordered Twitter to block more than 50 tweets with links to the documentary.
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The documentary focused on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership during the 2002 Gujarat riots and raised questions on the role of the Indian government. The BBC was accused of spreading fake news and propaganda as well as attempting to create chaos in the country. Around 1,000 people were killed during the riots of which majority were Muslims. The BBC had not aired the documentary in India but the video was uploaded on YouTube.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday had said that he was not aware of the documentary and the related posts that were blocked by the micro blogging site. He had also said that India has a very strict social media laws and he was in favour of complying with laws, rather than flouting it.
