IT tax raids various premises of Dainik Bhaskar Group, Bharat Samachar channel

Reportedly, the residences and offices of the promoters of the group were also raided.

Various teams of the Income Tax department are conducting raids at multiple locations owned by the Dainik Bhaskar Group and separate searches are being carried out at premises owned by Lucknow-based Bharat Samachar television channel and its editor, Brajesh Misra reported The Wire.

According to NDTV, around 100 tax officials conducted raids at 30 locations of Dainik Bhaskar group, which is one of the largest media groups in the country, in different states, that is, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the national capital. Reportedly, the residences and offices of the promoters of the group were also raided. While speaking with NDTV, senior editor of the paper said that raids were being conducted at the offices in Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bhopal and Indore.

Meanwhile, the opposition alleged that the raids were being carried out as the media houses were reporting about the "mismanagement" of the Covid-19 by the government. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called "the attack on journalists and media houses" "another brutal attempt to stifle democracy." Dainik Bhaskar is a Hindi daily which has more than 60 editions that are circulated in a dozen states in different languages.