Messi visit SIT probe: police launch searches at five locations
Apart from head office of Reporting Broadcasting Corporation, residences of its managing director Anto Augustine and those of his brothers and co-owners, Roji Augustine and Jose Kutty Augustine, as well as the house of administrative head are being searched
Kochi police are searching five locations, including the head office of Reporting Broadcasting Corporation (RBC) in Ernakulam district, as part of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into alleged financial misappropriation and tax evasion. The searches target the company's headquarters, the residence of its managing director and co-owners, and the home of its administrative head.
Police entered the newsroom and seized journalists' mobile phones amid protests, claiming they were acting under a court-issued search warrant. RBC sources allege the police disrupted newsroom operations and took control of input calls. Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the police actions, comparing them to the Emergency-era suppression of media.
The Kerala Union of Working Journalists called it an assault on democracy and urged strong public outrage. The Ernakulam Press Club plans to march to the District Police Chief's office to protest the attack on press freedom.
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