"Detailed information will be given soon..." Union Min Anurag Thakur on IT surveys at BBC offices
Feb 14, 2023
Thane (Maharashtra) [India], February 14 : Reacting to the 'survey' at BBC offices at Delhi and Mumbai offices by I-T officials, Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday said that the Income Tax department would give detailed information regarding this.
"The Income Tax Dept conducts surveys from time to time where irregularities are found, and when the survey is completed, they give information by a press note or press briefing. And I think when this survey of IT is completed, they will give you all that information in detail," he told reporters here in Maharashtra.
Earlier this morning, Income Tax officials arrived at BBC offices located at the national capital's KG Marg for the survey. The British broadcaster's office at Kalina Santacruz in Mumbai was also surveyed, sources said adding that the survey was limited to the business premises of BBC only.
According to reports, a team of IT officials arrived at the BBC Studios office in Kalina Santacruz around 11.30 am today and a survey has been going on since then. There is no I-T activity at the BBC News office at Linking Road Bandra West.
It is learnt that the tax officials are conducting verification of certain account documents in the finance department of the BBC offices.
During the investigation, the mobile phones of all the employees present in the BBC office were taken away by the Income Tax team. The data of the computer kept in the accounts and finance department was also scanned. According to sources, officials said the devices will be returned to their owners after taking a backup.
However, as the survey was underway, the British public broadcaster BBC News released a statement, saying that it is cooperating with the Income Tax department, which is conducting a survey at its offices in New Delhi and Mumbai.
"The Income Tax Authorities are currently at the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai and we are fully cooperating," the BBC News Press Team said in a statement.
The searches come weeks after the BBC released a documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi - 'India: The Modi Question," which caused controversy on January 21. The Centre had issued directions for blocking multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the controversial BBC documentary on PM Modi. The Supreme Court had on February 3 directed the central government to produce original records relating to its decision to block the BBC documentary.
