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New Delhi: Income Tax authorities raided the BBC's New Delhi and Mumbai offices on Tuesday, weeks after the broadcaster aired a documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Police sealed off the New Delhi office, which occupies two floors, and half a dozen officers were stationed outside to prevent people from entering or leaving.
A BBC employee based in New Delhi told AFP that the tax raid was in progress and that officials were "confiscating all phones".
An official at the scene said: "There is government procedure happening inside the office," declining to disclose their department.
Another BBC staffer based in Mumbai confirmed the broadcaster's office in the country’s commercial hub was also being raided.
The Income Tax Department could not be reached for comment by AFP.
Last month, the broadcaster aired a two-part documentary on the riots. The ruling BJP had slammed the documentary stating it was against prime minister Narendra Modi.
The union government blocked videos and tweets sharing links to the documentary, using emergency powers under the information technology laws.
University student groups later organised viewings of the documentary despite campus bans.
Police arrested two dozen students at the Delhi University after stopping a screening there in late January.
With AFP inputs
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