Income Tax raids were conducted at several offices of Dainik Bhaskar in multiple cities across Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Gujarat over alleged tax evasion, officials said. The Department conducted searches at the Promoters' residences and offices as well.
Reports suggest that the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has not issued a statement yet but tax officials have confirmed that the searches are underway.
Opposition leaders were quick to condemn the raids and said this is the government’s attack on journalism and the news publication was paying the price for exposing the government’s mismanagement of Covid19’s second wave.
Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh tweeted that it is an ‘undeclared emergency’.
Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh also tweeted about the raids and said that this is Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah’s attack on journalism.
During the second wave of the Covid19 pandemic, the Dainik Bhaskar group had severely criticised the government for their handling of the pandemic. Through their series of stories on rising deaths they had exposed how bodies were being dumped along the river Ganga. Their Covid related coverage was noticed globally and was carried by several international publications like NY Times, The Guardian, BBC, CNN and Singapore Times.
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