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Maharashtra

Modi documentary row: Mumbai Press Club condemns IT raids on BBC offices in Delhi, Mumbai

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Mumbai: The Income-Tax Department raids at British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) premises in Delhi and Mumbai were strongly condemned by the Mumbai Press Club. A documentary on the Gujarat riots was aired by the broadcaster, and the searches in BBC offices come weeks after that.

“Media houses have been continuously attacked by the Union and some state governments for refusing to follow the government’s perspective, aimed at overawing and demoralizing them,” said the Press Club.

Press Club highlighted about the income tax raids carried out at various media offices in the recent times. They also alleged that houses and offices of journalists and promoters were raided after stories of government ineptitude and failure were done by them.

“In recent days, a series of coordinated income tax raids have been seen on the offices of Dainik Bhaskar Group, UP-based TV network Bharat Live, and news portals such as Newsclick and Newslaundry, among others. Not only have company offices and promoters’ homes been raided, but the homes of editors and ordinary journalists, too, have not been spared. Allegations of tax evasion have been cited by the agencies as justification, but the timing of these raids is too precise to miss the signal to the entire media: that if stories of government ineptitude and failure are carried, this is what will have to be faced,” stated Press Club.

Mumbai Press Club alleged that new laws were brought into action in recent times to bring media companies under the scanner of bureaucracy. This has brought danger to the democary.

“Journalists have been jailed earlier, and new laws such as the Digital IT rules have been framed, bringing media companies under the oversight of the higher bureaucracy. This is dangerous in a democracy. It is demanded that this intimidation be stopped, and journalists are left to do their jobs without fear or favour. The fourth estate is a pillar of democracy, and it will only be undermined by such actions,” said Mumbai Press Club.


About IT raids at BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai

The tax department raided BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai on Tuesday morning. The BBC’s offices are located on Kasturba Gandhi Marg in Delhi and Santacruz in Mumbai. The searches come amid the uproar over a documentary about Prime Minister Modi.

The mobile phones of the employees were seized, and many of them were asked to go home, according to initial reports.

After a day long of searches conducted by the Income Tax department on Tuesday, the operation continued all night to the next day today. The search operation is expected to continue all day today too.

disaster

Mumbai’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sudhakar Pathare, who was posted in the Port Zone, passed away in a road accident on Saturday.

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Pathare had visited Hyderabad for training. He was on his way to visit a temple with a relative when the accident occurred. Both Pathare and his relative lost their lives in the crash.

Mumbai Police have been informed about the incident.

More details are awaited.

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Maharashtra

Order to demolish the tomb of Hazrat Syed Bale Shah Baba in Mira Bhayander

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Mumbai: The state government has issued an order to demolish the four hundred year old dargah of Hazrat Syed Bale Shah Peer Rahmatullah Alaih located in Mira Bhayander. Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation has sent a letter to the collector declaring this dargah illegal and ordered action against it. As the dargah is located on forest land, communalists had started demanding the demolition of the dargah. In the House, Darranjan Daukhre had also demanded action against the dargah, after which now the state government has ordered to run a bulldozer on the dargah. An order has also been issued to remove and demolish the dargah by May.

Dargah trustee Amjad Sheikh said that this dargah is ancient and this order is illegal in itself. In this case, communal forces had launched a campaign against the dargah, after which this order was issued.

There is a dargah on the beach and citing the threat of terrorist and illegal activities and the presence of terrorists here, there was a demand to demolish the dargah. The dargah is close to the sea and in such a situation, the threat of a terrorist attack on Mumbai from the sea has been expressed, while the dargah administration has clearly denied this and said that communal organizations are running their agenda against the dargah and there is no such threat. Muslims have opposed this decision of the government and Muslims have also expressed their displeasure and anger over it.

The trustee says that this dargah is ancient and earlier the collector and the municipal corporation had given a notice, after which the illegal shed and other premises were demolished here and the dargah administration has taken this action at its own level. Now an order has been issued to demolish the dargah itself.

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Maharashtra

Haji Ali Dargah will be closed for pilgrims for a few hours on Eid due to rising sea level

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Mumbai: Due to rising sea level at Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai, the dargah will be closed for pilgrims for a few hours on Eid. On March 31, the dargah will be closed for pilgrims from 12 noon to 3 pm. During this time, entry of pilgrims to the dargah will be restricted. The dargah will be closed on Tuesday, April 1 from 12:45 pm to 3:45 pm and on Wednesday, April 2 from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm.

Therefore, we have appealed to the pilgrims not to gather at the dargah during these hours. This information has been released by Tahir, administrative officer of Haji Ali Dargah. Pilgrims visit Haji Ali Dargah on Eid-Basi and Tiwasi, but due to the rising water level of the sea, water gets accumulated on the way to the Dargah and entry to the Dargah is prohibited and the gate of the Dargah remains closed during these days, due to which there is a lot of crowd there. Therefore, pilgrims have been requested to come to the Dargah only at the scheduled time.

The police also remains vigilant at the Dargah during the rising sea level, as there is a crowd of pilgrims here during Eid and festivals. The Haji Ali Dargah administration has said that on the occasion of Eid, lakhs of pilgrims visit the Dargah of Haji Ali (RahmatullahAlaih). These pilgrims include pilgrims from the country and abroad, so the Dargah administration has also claimed special security arrangements on Eid. Spiritual scenes are also seen at Haji Ali Dargah during Eid prayers.

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