New Delhi(CNN) Indian tax authorities raided the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai on Tuesday, weeks after the country banned a documentary from the British broadcaster critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged role in the deadly riots more than 20 years ago.
BBC News television reported that people were not allowed in or out of the offices.
The attacks came after the Indian government said it had used “emergency powers” to prevent the documentary from airing in the country, adding that YouTube and Twitter had complied with the order.
The move polarized reaction in the world’s largest democracy. Critics denounced it as an attack on press freedom, while Modi’s supporters rallied to his defense.
A BBC spokesman told CNN the organization was “cooperating fully” with the authorities. “We hope to resolve this situation as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said.
The two-part documentary “India: The Modi Question” criticizes the former chief minister of the western state of Gujarat in 2002 when riots broke out between the state’s Hindu majority and Muslim minorities. It aired in the UK in January.
More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, have been killed in the violence and at least 220 others are missing, according to government figures. Almost 1,000 women were widowed, while more than 600 children were orphaned, official figures show.
Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in India in 2014, riding a wave of Hindu nationalism in the country of 1.3 billion, where nearly 80% of the population follow the faith.
The BBC said that Jack Straw, who was British foreign secretary in 2002 and appeared in the documentary, claimed that Modi “played a proactive role in withdrawing the police and tacitly encouraging extremists.” in Hindu.”
Modi has denied accusations that he has failed to stop the violence. A special investigation team appointed by India’s Supreme Court in 2012 found no evidence to suggest he was to blame.
But the riots remain one of the darkest chapters in India’s post-independence history, with some victims still awaiting justice.
Last month, some Delhi university students who tried to watch the banned film on campus were stopped by police, raising concerns that liberties were being taken under the Modi government.
Fears of censorship
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said companies, including media agencies, must “follow and respect the law of India.”
“Anybody, any agency, even if it is tied to the media, a company, if they work in India, they have to follow and respect the law of India. If they follow the law, then why should they be afraid or worried? its work ,” he said.
India is a country that “gives a chance to every organization” as long as they are “willing to obey” the country’s constitution, Bhatia added.
The attacks have raised fears of censorship in India.
In a statement Tuesdaythe Editor’s Guild of India said it was “deeply concerned” by the development.
The raids are a “continuation of a trend of using government agencies to intimidate and harass press organizations critical of government policies or the ruling establishment,” it said. “This is a trend that undermines constitutional democracy.”
The statement gave examples of similar searches conducted in the offices of various local English media outlets, including NewsClick and Newslaundry, as well as Hindi-language media organizations including Dainik Bhaskar and Bharat Samachar.
“The Guild requests that great care and sensitivity be shown in all investigations so as not to undermine the rights of journalists and media organizations,” it said.
