CBI raids on NDTV is front-page news on major English dailies

The CBI raids on NDTV is front-page news across major English dailies today. Indian Express along with a report on the raids also carried a useful explainer on the loan chain that led to raids.

The Times of India carried a front-page report headlined, “CBI says NDTV caused Rs 48 crore loss to ICICI Bank, searched Roy’s home“. Next to the report, it carried a box-item on NDTV’s response to the raid and also pointed to the fact that the Editors’ Guild expressed “deep concern” over the raids.

Hindustan Times in its report added that the raids come at a time when “the opposition has accused the government of selectively targeting charities and media group…” It also made a note of the the fact that India fell three places to 136th in the World Press Freedom Index according Reporters Without Border, which pointed at growth of Hindu nationalism as a serious threat. The Hindu also carried a front-page report, headlined: “CBI raids Prannoy Roy in cheating case”.

The Telegraph‘s front-page report sought questions of the CBI and remarked that it was unusual (not unlawful) of the investigating agency to pursue a private complaint on a commercial transaction that took place eight years ago. It also has quotes from NDTV employees, one of whom stated that the raids were a long time coming because NDTV had refused to become a mouthpiece for the government. Speculations that the raids had something to do with anchor Nidhi Razdan asking Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Sambit Patra to leave from a prime-time debate were, however, brushed aside.

The CBI raids pertain to a complex chain of transactions that begin with NDTV‘s holding company Radhika Roy and Prannoy Roy (RRPR) taking a series of loans to buy back NDTV shares. You can read a detailed piece in The Caravan on this here. You can also read Newslaundry’s report on how RRPR received an unsecured loan of Rs 403.85 crore, the source of which was Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries. According to The Caravan‘s report, this unsecured loan was used to repay the ICICI loan.