I-T Searches Dainik Bhaskar, Oppn Calls It Attack On Press Freedom

Govt Says Action Part Of Probe Into Panama Leaks Case

New Delhi/Jaipur/Bhopal: In a major action, income-tax officials on Thursday conducted searches on 30 premises across several cities, including Mumbai, Indore, Bhopal, Jaipur, Delhi-NCR, Korba and Ahmedabad, against the Bhaskar media group and its promoters in the Panama paper leak case.

The action sparked protests from the opposition and media bodies, which called it an attack on press freedom. The Bhaskar Group dubbed the action a retaliation against its aggressive coverage of the pandemic. Government sources, however, refuted the charge and said the searches were part of a probe into the alleged round-tripping by the Bhaskar Group, which has interests in other sectors besides media. On Thursday, I-T sleuths also held searches on a UP media group, Bharat Samachar, and its editor, in a different tax evasion case.

The Agarwal brothers— Sudhir, Pawan and Girish— are promoters of the Bhaskar Group and control media conglomerate DB Corp Ltd, which has investments in power, textile and realty with a turnover of around Rs 6,000 crore. DB controls at least 100 firms where I-T department has alleged tax evasion and round-tripping of investments via the Mauritius route.

The government is scared of true journalism. It is trying to pressure the Bhaskar Group, which placed the correct figures of Covid deaths and the truth about bodies floating in the Ganga before the country — Dainik Bhaskar