Dainik Bhaskar on Thursday, 22 July, reacted to raids conducted by the Income Tax Department at several premises of the Dainik Bhaskar Group, saying that they "did their job" and presented a true picture of the government's flaws in front of the public.
They also put out a tweet in Hindi which stated, "I am free, because I am Bhaskar. Readers' will prevails at Bhaskar."
In an article published soon after the I-T raids began, captioned "government scared of true journalism," Dainik Bhaskar said that several offices of the Bhaskar Group were raided by the Income Tax Department in the early hours of Thursday.
'Houses Searched, Mobiles Confiscated'
Teams of the department raided offices located in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan, the newspaper said.
The firm also claimed that the I-T teams conducted searches at the homes of many people working in the organisation, adding that mobile phones of employees present in the offices have been confiscated and they are not being allowed to go out.
According to them, employees on the night shift have been barred from leaving the office, and told that they are part of the process. The digital night team was only allowed to leave at 12:30 pm.
'We Showed Fearless Journalism'
The reply from Dainik Bhaskar went on to add that during the second wave, the newspaper presented the real situation in India to the country through their vigorous reportage.
"Whether it was the matter of dead bodies floating in the Ganga or hiding COVID-19 deaths, Bhaskar showed fearless journalism and kept the truth in front of the public," it wrote in its statement.
Further, the newspaper added screenshots of their various reports on the topics.
The headlines included the dead bodies washed ashore on the banks of Ganga in as many as 27 districts in Uttar Pradesh, debunking the Centre's claim that no deaths occurred due to oxygen shortage in the country, and exposing the Gujarat government's false claims on the number of COVID-19 deaths among others.
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