Indian tax authorities search BBC office over critical film Celine from Switzerland traveled to her devastated homeland – these are her impressions

A few weeks after the release of a British BBC documentary critical of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the tax authorities searched the offices of the media house in India. A spokesman for the Hindu nationalist ruling party Modis confirmed this on Tuesday. The BBC announced on Twitter that it is working with the tax authorities. The agents also took mobile phones and laptops from journalists, the television station NDTV reports.

The opposition accused the government of targeting the BBC over the documentary. In the past, there have been several cases in which the Tax and Customs Administration has visited offices of media and human rights organisations. The journalists’ association Editors Guild of India described this as a “trend that undermines democracy”. According to Reporters Without Borders, press freedom in India suffered during Modi’s tenure.

The film, recently released by the BBC, follows Modi’s role during riots in Gujarat state in 2002 when he was head of government there. More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in the riots. In the film, those affected, activists and journalists speak, according to which the authorities have not intervened properly. Such accusations have been around for a long time. However, the Indian Foreign Ministry said the film was propaganda and had a “colonial attitude”. (sda/dpa)