ED detains Gujarat Samachar director Bahubali Shah after raids

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday detained Bahubali Shah, one of the directors of Gujarat Samachar, a leading Gujarati-language daily, following raids at the newspaper group’s premises in Ahmedabad, reported NewsDrum.

Bahubali Shah is a director at Lok Prakashan Limited, the company that owns Gujarat Samachar. His elder brother, Shreyansh Shah, serves as the managing editor of the newspaper.

The ED’s action reportedly came shortly after a 36-hour-long search by the Income Tax department at GSTV — a Gujarati news channel associated with the Shah family — concluded. The ED is said to have entered the premises on Thursday evening, hours after the I-T team left, according to GSTV Digital Head Tushar Dave.

Dave, in a Facebook post, claimed that Bahubali Shah was detained in the early hours of Friday. He was initially taken to VS Hospital by the ED, and later shifted to Zydus Hospital after his health condition reportedly deteriorated. Shah remains hospitalised, as per current information.

There has been no official statement from the ED so far detailing the nature of the alleged violations or the grounds for Shah’s detention. An employee of Gujarat Samachar confirmed that Shah is currently under medical care.

The Congress on Friday flayed the Enforcement Directorate's action against the Gujarat Samachar founder, saying anyone raising their voice against the government or not compromising with the BJP will have to go to jail.