Indian tax officials on Tuesday searched the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai, the British public broadcaster Said In a statement, weeks after its release two part documentary An investigation into Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in the 2002 religious riots in which hundreds of people were killed in the western state of Gujarat.
“Income Tax officers are currently at BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai and we are co-operating fully,” the BBC News press service wrote in a brief statement on Twitter. “We hope this situation is resolved as soon as possible.”
In January, the BBC released a documentary looking at the role Modi played in large-scale religious riots that killed nearly 1,000 people – mostly Muslims – in the state of Gujarat 2002,
The investigation cited an unpublished report by the British Foreign Office, which stated that Modi, who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat, was “directly responsible” for the “soulful atmosphere” that led to the riots.
According to BBCIndian officials were given the right to reply in the documentary, but declined to do so.
Modi, who has denied any wrongdoing, was cleared of complicity in the 2002 riots, following an inquiry commissioned by the Supreme Court of India. 2013,
Documentary, which was banned by the Government of India shortly after its release It has been told as “hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage” by Kanchan Gupta, a senior advisor at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.