BBC India offices raided by tax officials in New Delhi and Mumbai
Indian tax officials have raided the BBC’s offices in New Delhi.
Teams from the tax department surveyed the BBC’s Delhi and Mumbai offices, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, quoting officials who were not identified.
A BBC spokesperson said: “The income tax authorities are currently at the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai and we are fully cooperating.
“We hope to have this situation resolved as soon as possible.”
Indian tax authorities have so far declined to comment.
The search of the offices comes just weeks after the broadcaster released a documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in the anti-Musilm riots in 2002 when he was chief minister of Gujarat in which more than 1,000 people died.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was criticised for his role in anti-Muslim riots in 2002 when he was chief minister of Gujarat
Mr Modi has denied allegations that authorities under his watch allowed and even encouraged the bloodshed, and the Supreme Court said it found no evidence to prosecute him.
Last year, the court dismissed a petition filed by a Muslim victim questioning Mr Modi’s exoneration.
The second portion of the two-part documentary “examines the track record of Narendra Modi’s government following his re-election in 2019”, according to the BBC’s website.
The Indian government banned the documentary, authorities moved to stop screenings and restricted clips of it on social media in a move that critics branded an assault on press freedom.
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The government invoked emergency powers under its information technology laws to block the programme.
Twitter and YouTube complied with government requests and removed many links to the documentary.
India’s foreign ministry at the time called the documentary a “propaganda piece designed to push a particularly discredited narrative” that lacked objectivity.
Many politicians from Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party criticised the programme as an attack on India’s sovereignty.
The BBC said in a statement at the time that the documentary was “rigorously researched” and involved a wide range of voices and opinions.
“We offered the Indian government a right to reply to the matters raised in the series – it declined to respond,” the statement said.
Last week, Hindu right-wing nationalists petitioned the Supreme Court for a complete ban on the BBC in the wake of the programme.
The court dismissed their plea, calling it “absolutely meritless”.
“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.
The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
And in a post on X, the official DOGE account put out a call to arms for people to sign up and help “dismantle government bureaucracy”.
The post said: “We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE.
“We don’t need more part-time idea generators.
“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.
“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”
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Elon Musk speaking at an event held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.
“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.
“What a great deal!”
When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.
Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
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The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
Read more from Sky News:
Mass displacement in Gaza – people unsure where to go
Donald Trump picks vaccine sceptic as health secretary
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
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