New Delhi: The CBI on June 5 searched the residence of NDTV founder Prannoy Roy here and three other locations for allegedly causing losses to a private bank. The agency has registered a case against Roy, his wife Radhika and RRPR Holdings for allegedly causing losses of Rs. 48 crore to ICICI Bank, CBI sources said. They said the agency was conducting searches at four places in the national capital and Dehradun.
In a statement, NDTV said: “It is shocking that the CBI conducted searches on the NDTV offices and residence of the promoters without even conducting a preliminary enquiry. This is a blatant political attack on the freedom of the press as sources confirm that under pressure, the CBI has been compelled to file an FIR based on a shoddy complaint by a disgruntled former consultant at NDTV called Sanjay Dutt, who has been making false allegations and filing cases in courts of law with these false allegations. So far, he has not obtained a single order from any of these courts.”
Information and broadcasting minister M. Venkaiah Naidu denied NDTV’s “witch-hunting” charge and said that “law is taking its own course”. “This government doesn’t believe in interfering. They(CBI) must have some information, that’s why they might have taken steps,” Naidu told ANI.
The raids created an uproar on social media with many stating their views for or against the move.
India Tribune, as an English weekly newspaper, was launched in 1977 in Chicago by its publisher Prashant Shah with a lofty ideal to serve the Asian Indian community in the USA. Over the years, it has grown with all vigor, and now it is being published in three editions – Chicago, New York and Atlanta. India Tribune, a journal of its kind for the family in the USA, has been a household name for many Indians for over three decades with each issue commanding a readership of over 125,000.
