NEW DELHI: Calling the income tax raids on a news portal office "a clampdown on free press", Amnesty India on Thursday said the authorities are attempting to silence anyone expressing views critical of the government.
"The Income Tax Department's search on Quintillion Media Private Ltd, which runs a news website 'The Quint', and the homes of its owners, Raghav Bahl and Ritu Kapoor, indicates a clampdown on the free press," Aakar Patel, Executive Director of Amnesty India, said in a statement.
"It raises disturbing questions on whether the news website is being targeted for speaking truth to power. It appears that the authorities are attempting to silence anyone expressing views that are critical of the government," he said.
Income Tax officials on Thursday carried out "surveys" at the residence and office premises of Bahl over alleged tax evasion.