Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Income Tax Department on Thursday conducted searches at the offices of two prominent media groups, Dainik Bhaskar and Uttar Pradesh-based Hindi news channel Bharat Samachar, in connection with the alleged tax evasion case. The searches were conducted at the Bhopal, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Noida office locations of Dainik Bhaskar.
The premises of TV news channel Bharat Samachar group and its promoters and staffers in Lucknow were also searched. According to sources, a team of Income Tax searched their Lucknow office and the editor's house to check the tax documents. The sources claimed that the raids are based on evidence of tax fraud by the channel. Searches were also conducted at the residential locations of its promoters in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
The phones of all the employees present in Bhaskar's office have been confiscated and no one is being allowed to go out.
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Reacting to the raids, Congress leader and former MP chief minister Digvijaya Singh said on Twitter that these raids are attacks on journalism and ED/ IT are the only weapons of the Modi government.He also said that tax officials are present at half a dozen premises of the Dainik Bhaskar Group, including at its office at the Press Complex in Bhopal
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said they are an "attempt to scare the media." "Their message is clear that whoever will speak against the BJP government, they will not be spared. Such thinking is very dangerous. Everyone should raise their voice against this," he said in a tweet.
"These raids should be stopped immediately and the media should be allowed to work freely," he added.
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Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot also tweeted Income Tax raid on Dainik Bhaskar newspaper & Bharat Samachar news channel is a brazen attempt to suppress the voice of media. Modi government cannot tolerate even an iota of its criticism. Due to its fascist mentality, the BJP doesn't want to see the truth in a democratic setup.
The Dainik Bhaskar Group brings out newspaper editions in Hindi and Gujarati from various states.
