‘Survey’ Conducted By Income Tax Department In BBC Offices Of Delhi, Mumbai

NEW DELHI: On Tuesday, teams from the Income Tax department conducted a "survey" at the BBC office in New Delhi, according to government representatives. The tax authorities' visit comes less than a month after the BBC aired a two-part documentary about the 2002 Gujarat riots called India: The Modi Question, which was derided by the Indian government as "propaganda."

The presence of personnel at the BBC headquarters in New Delhi was verified to HT by a Central Board of Direct Taxes representative. It's not a raid; it's a survey, he explained.

According to a second official, the government was looking into "some BBC-related concerns based on clear inputs of various violations." "Studies are carried out to identify these abnormalities. It wouldn't be known if there were any intentional abnormalities until the survey was over, the second official said, requesting anonymity.

With the help of the Delhi Police's seventh battalion, officials arrived at the office on Tuesday just before noon. There is no connection between the documentary and the survey, as the officials made clear. The IT "survey" in Mumbai got underway at 11.30 a.m. at the BBC studios in the Bandra Kurla Complex. The BBC's headquarters are in Bandra (West).

When the documentary on the Gujarat riots was released in January, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) criticised it for lacking objectivity and raising questions about its motivations. "It makes us question the motivations behind this exercise and its goal. This propaganda piece aims to advance a certain, debunked thesis.

At the time, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi remarked that it was "blatantly evident" that there was bias, a lack of objectivity, and a persistent colonial mindset. In defending its documentary, BBC stated: "The documentary series investigates the tensions between India's Hindu majority and Muslim minority and analyses the politics of Mr. Modi in relation to those issues."

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