The Andhra Pradesh police today conducted searches at the office of Margadarsi Financiers, owned by media baron C Ramoji Rao, following allegations of financial irregularities against the firm, according to news reports.
Armed with a search warrant issued by a local court, a team of 17 CID officials went to the head office of Margadarsi Financiers at Saifabad here and carried out the search to obtain details about its depositors and accounts, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. Earlier, Inspector General of Police (CID) Krishna Raju moved an application before First Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pramila Reddy seeking a search warrant.
The Editors Guild of India condemned the "planned moves" to raid and search the offices of the Eenadu newspaper and its Editor Ramoji Rao as a "blatant attempt to muzzle the media." In a statement signed by its president Alok Mehta and secretary general KS Sachidananda Murthy, the Guild said: "There are reports that the authorities are planning to obtain a search warrant against the offices of Eenadu and of Ramoji Rao, ostensibly to search for papers connected with a financial company owned by Rao. But any move by the police to search the offices of the newspaper and its Editor amounts to a direct attack on the freedom of the press.â€
Rao, former president of the Editors Guild of India, informed the Guild that for the past 100 days “an undeclared Emergency is in operation†against himself and his newspaper. He accused the Government of Andhra Pradesh of indulging in selective media leaks to destroy the credibility of himself as editor and also that of Eenadu.
The raid came nearly a week after the government-instituted inquiry by former Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Chairman N Rangachari concluded that the firm had violated the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act by collecting huge deposits from the public. After the Ranchachari Commission submitted its report to the government on February 15, it was widely expected that the CID will be asked to proceed against the company.
The searches taken up under Section 45 (S) of the RBI Act, evoked sharp reaction from the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which alleged that the Congress government resorted to witch-hunting as Telugu daily 'Eenadu' and television channels owned by Ramoji Rao had been exposing its corruption and wrongdoings, according to the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS).
Accusing the government of trying to stifle the media, TDP president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the government's action smelt of vengeance as Margadarsi had assured depositors that their interests would be protected. He said it was RBI's job to protect the interests of depositors and pointed out that no depositor had lodged any complaint with RBI.
The Editors Guild has cautioned the Andhra Pradesh Government not to use the investigations to settle scores with an independent newspaper by planning secretly to search the premises of Eenadu newspaper and its editor. “A newspaper cannot be hounded just because the Government of Andhra Pradesh and the ruling party in the state dislike the editorial policy of the newspaper.†Ramoji Rao is known for his anti-Congress stand and has always been at loggerheads with Chief Minister YSR Reddy.
The state Congress Legislature Party (CLP), however, took exception to the Guild’s condemnation, and said in a statement, "It is merely a coincidence that the editor of Eenadu is also carrying on the illegal business of accepting deposits from the public in violation of RBI Act. This business has nothing to do with Eenadu newspaper."
