Hours after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted raids at properties belonging to NDTV founder and executive co-chairman Dr Prannoy Roy, the television news channel termed the searches a “witch hunt by multiple agencies”.
In a statement posted on its website, NDTV stated:
“This morning, the CBI stepped up the concerted harassment of NDTV and its promoters based on the same old endless false accusations.
NDTV and its promoters will fight tirelessly against this witch-hunt by multiple agencies. We will not succumb to these attempts to blatantly undermine democracy and free speech in India.
We have one message to those who are trying to destroy the institutions of India and everything it stands for: we will fight for our country and overcome these forces.”
An FIR has been registered Prannoy Roy, his wife Radhika Roy, a private company and others for allegedly causing losses to a bank. Sources say that according to the FIR filed, NDTV allegedly defaulted on a loan amount of Rs 42 crore taken from ICICI Bank through a subsidiary RRPR Holding Private Ltd.
Searches are being carried out at Prannoy Roy’s residence in New Delhi, and other places in Dehradun.
Many journalists, including employees of NDTV, came out in support of the Roys and the news channel on social media, with several terming it an attack on independent media.
Message is clear: any independent voices in media will be bullied and shut down. Black day. https://t.co/lKE93K29cp
— Sreenivasan Jain (@SreenivasanJain) June 5, 2017
Today’s CBI raid on @PrannoyRoyNDTV is a defining moment: the last time this sort of thing happened was during the Emergency
— Praveen Swami (@praveenswami) June 5, 2017
A message to those in the media who are still independent and do their job by fearlessly asking questions. We won't be intimidated https://t.co/sNC7pEPnOW
— Nidhi Razdan (@RazdanNidhi) June 5, 2017
CBI raid on @PrannoyRoyNDTV is watershed for free media in India. Media house's reactions will go down in history, just as in the Emergency.
— Ajai Shukla (@ajaishukla) June 5, 2017