Indian tax officials ended a probe at the BBC’s India offices, the British broadcaster said. The investigation followed weeks after it aired a documentary about the 2002 Gujarat riots and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged role in the violence in his home state.

“The income tax authorities have left our offices in New Delhi and Mumbai,” the BBC said in a statement posted on Twitter late Thursday (Feb 16). “We are supporting staff – many of whom have faced lengthy questioning or been required to stay overnight – and their welfare is our priority.” 

The BBC would continue to cooperate with Indian officials and hope “matters are resolved as soon as possible,” the statement added. Tax officials arrived at the broadcaster’s offices on Tuesday.

Tax investigations in India can drag on for several months, if not years.

The BBC had restricted broadcast of the two-part documentary, India: The Modi Question, in the South Asian nation. However, the government ordered social media giants Twitter and Alphabet’s YouTube to take down tweets and videos about the film. The foreign ministry also dismissed the film, aired in January, as a “propaganda” piece. 

An Indian government official, with knowledge of the matter, confirmed that the inquiry at the broadcaster’s offices had wrapped up, but gave no other details. The official asked not to be named citing the private nature of the matter. 

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A spokesperson of the income tax office did not respond to text messages seeking comment.

The Editors Guild of India and the Press Club of India both voiced concerns about the government action.

The BBC documentary had raised the charge, made by many human rights groups, that Modi, who was chief minister of Gujarat at the time of the 2002 riots, did little to quell the violence. He denied the allegations that were later dismissed by India’s Supreme Court.

More than 1,000 people – mostly Muslims – were killed in the sectarian violence across the state after a train carrying Hindu pilgrims was burned allegedly by a Muslim mob. 

Rights groups and some independent media organisations have accused Modi’s government of creating an atmosphere of fear for activists since it came to power in 2014. In 2020 Amnesty International shut down its India operations after what it called “constant harassment” from government agencies, including the freezing of its bank accounts in the country. BLOOMBERG