At BBC Delhi Office, Taxmen Searched For 'Tax' Keyword On Desktops: Sources

The Income Tax officials who paid a visit to the offices of the premier news organisation BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) in Delhi and Mumbai today, not only took away personal laptops and cell phones of employees for examination, they also inspected the desktops at the offices. Sources said the taxmen searched with the keyword "tax" on the desktop. The employees were allowed to leave office only after the inspection was over.

Income Tax sources also said they have asked the BBC's finance department for details of balance sheets and accounts.

The Income Tax Department explained their activities as a "survey" linked to alleged diversion of profits and irregularities in transfer pricing after its timing was questioned by the opposition, the Editor's Guild and a chunk of the civil society.

Last month, a BBC documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 2002 Gujarat riots, generated huge controversy.

The government had criticised the BBC for what it called wrong and prejudiced reportage on the Gujarat violence in "India: The Modi Question" documentary. It also attempted to ban online access to the films and their viewing, removing them from YouTube and Twitter.

Union law minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted that some people "consider BBC above the Supreme Court of India and lower the country's dignity and image" and attributed it to colonial mindset.

In a pushback, the opposition and a section of students circulated links to watch the film and held public screenings.

The IT sleuths are still at the BBC offices, and they have handed employees their cellphones and personal laptops, sources said.

The BBC, which said it was "fully cooperating" with the tax authorities, later added that all its employees were "safe".  

The BBC will continue to support them and hope that this is resolved as soon as possible, the organisation said. It has also asked its staff asks its staff not to speculate about the day's events and refrain from commenting on the matter on social media.

The organization has promised a detailed statement once the survey is over.