New Delhi
\nIndian tax authorities raided the BBC\u2019s offices in New Delhi and Mumbai on Tuesday, weeks after the country banned a documentary from the British broadcaster that was critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s alleged role in deadly riots more than 20 years ago.
\nBBC News reported on television that people had not been allowed to enter or leave the offices.
\nThe raids come after the Indian government said it used \u201cemergency powers\u201d to block the documentary from airing in the country, adding that both YouTube and Twitter complied with the order.
\nThe move polarized reaction in the world\u2019s largest democracy. Critics decried it as an assault on press freedom, while Modi\u2019s supporters rallied to his defense.
\nA BBC spokesperson told CNN that the organization was \u201cfully cooperating\u201d with authorities. \u201cWe hope to have this situation resolved as soon as possible,\u201d the spokesperson said.
\nThe two-part documentary \u201cIndia: The Modi Question\u201d criticized the then-chief minister of the western state of Gujarat in 2002 when riots broke out between the state\u2019s majority Hindus and minority Muslims. It was broadcast in the UK in January.
\nMore than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in the violence and at least 220 more went missing, according to government figures. Almost 1,000 women were widowed, while more than 600 children were left orphaned, official figures showed.
\nModi and his ruling ruling Bharatiya Janata Party rose to power in India in 2014, riding on a wave of Hindu nationalism in the country of 1.3 billion, where nearly 80% of the population follow the faith.
\nThe BBC said Jack Straw, who was British foreign secretary in 2002 and features in the documentary, claims that Modi had \u201cplayed a proactive part in pulling back the police and in tacitly encouraging the Hindu extremists.\u201d
\nModi has denied accusations that he failed to stop the violence. A special investigation team appointed by India\u2019s Supreme Court in 2012 found no evidence to suggest he was to blame.
\nBut the riots remain one of the darkest chapters in India\u2019s post-independence history, with some victims still awaiting justice.
\nLast month, some university students in Delhi attempting to watch the banned film on campus were detained by police, raising concerns that freedoms were bring throttled under Modi\u2019s government.
\nFears of censorship
\nSpeaking at a news conference Tuesday, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said companies, including media agencies, must \u201cfollow and respect Indian law.\u201d
\n\u201cAnyone, any agency, whether tied to the media, a company, if they are working in India, they must follow and respect Indian law. If they follow the law, then why should they be scared or worried? Let the Income Department do its job,\u201d he said.
\nIndia was a country that \u201cgives an opportunity to every organization\u201d as long as they are \u201cwilling to abide\u201d by the country\u2019s constitution, Bhatia added.
\nThe raids have raised fears of censorship in India.
\nIn a statement Tuesday, the Editor\u2019s Guild of India said it was \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d by the development.
\nThe raids were a \u201ccontinuation of a trend of using government agencies to intimidate and harass press organisations that are critical of government policies or the ruling establishment,\u201d it said. \u201cThis is a trend that undermines constitutional democracy.\u201d
\nThe statement gave examples of similar searches carried out at the offices of various English-language local media outlets, including NewsClick and Newslaundry, as well as Hindi-language media organizations including Dainik Bhaskar and Bharat Samachar.
\n\u201cThe Guild demands that great care and sensitivity be shown in all such investigations so as to not undermine the rights of journalists and media organisations,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi Indian tax authorities raided the BBC\u2019s offices in New Delhi and Mumbai on Tuesday, weeks after the country banned a documentary from the British broadcaster that was critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s alleged role in deadly riots more than 20 years ago. BBC News reported on television that people had not been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":313794,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-313779","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n