The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday night arrested Bahubali Shah, co-owner of regional newspaper Gujarat Samachar that has published articles critical of BJP governments and mocked Narendra Modi’s “56-inch chest”, prompting charges of a political “witch-hunt”.

While the ED had till Friday night not officially specified the grounds of the arrest, agency sources alleged financial irregularities and tax evasion by the newspaper’s Ahmedabad-based publisher, Lok Prakashan Limited.

Bahubali, 73, a director with Lok Prakashan and the television channel GSTV, complained of uneasiness after his arrest and was admitted to a hospital’s ICU. Late on Friday night he received interim bail on health grounds,sources said.

Founded in 1932, Gujarat Samachar is one of the most influential and largest circulated regional dailies in the country.

Managing editor Shreyansh Shah alleged political vindictiveness behind his younger brother’s arrest, which he said came after 36 hours of raids, mainly by the income-tax department.

“We don’t know why they are treating us like someone (sic) from the underworld… as if we are criminals,” hetold reporters.

Gujarat Samachar’s X account has been suspended without explanation since May 9, around the time the government imposed online curbs on several media outlets amid the India-Pakistan confrontation.

The newspaper recently criticised Prime Minister Modi for the embarrassment of the US announcing the “ceasefire” between India and Pakistan. It also questioned Modi’s decision to travel to Bihar to campaign rather than visit Pahalgam afterthe massacre.

After the Pulwama terror attack in 2019, the newspaper had carried a headline saying “Even a 56-inch chest could not save the lives of 40CRPF jawans.”

Sources in the ED said Bahubali was arrested following raids on premises linked to the company and the homes ofits owners.

“Both the ED and the income-tax department have separately been probing the alleged financial irregularities by the company that publishes Gujarat Samachar,” an agency official said.

Government agencies have in the past, too, raided media establishments over claims of economic offences.

In July 2021, income-tax officials conducted raids in five states on offices of the Dainik Bhaskar, one of largest Hindi newspaper groups, which had been at the forefront of reporting on the Modi government’s Covid mismanagement and the Pegasus snooping controversy.

In October 2023, the ED searched the office of the NewsClick news portal in Delhi for 37 hours and raided the home of its editor-in-chief, Prabir Purkayastha.

NewsClick had extensively covered the 2019-20 protests against the new citizenship regime and the 2020-21 farmers’ movement.

In 2017, the CBI had raided the office of the NDTV news channel and the home of its top executives, Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy.

‘Witch-hunt’

The Press Club of India, Indian Women’s Press Corps, Press Association, Delhi Union of Journalists, Kerala Union of Working Journalists, and the Working News Cameramen’s Association condemned the arrest.

“The repeated actions by the ED and allied agencies to target the media certainly undermine the fundamental principles of democracy enshrined in the Constitution and erode public trust in institutions,” they said in a statement.

They sought the “utmost transparency regarding the allegations” and urged “due process” and fairness.

“The witch-hunting of the media and media persons should stop…. We also call for the immediate release of the owner unless credible evidence is presented in a transparent manner,” they added.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said Bahubali’s arrest was part of a larger conspiracy against Indian democracy.

“The attempt to silence Gujarat Samachar is another conspiracy to suppress the voice not just of one newspaper but of the entire democracy,” he said.

“When newspapers that hold power accountable are locked, then understand that democracy is in danger. The arrest of Bahubali Shah is part of the same politics of fear, which has now become the identity of the Modi government.”

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote on X: “Modi ji recently said in an interview — Criticism is the soul of Democracy…. By getting its senior founder, Shri Bahubali Bhai Shah ji arrested by ED, Modi ji has proved that arresting critics is the first sign of a scared dictator!”

Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that the raids and Bahubali’s arrest were “a sign of the frustration of BJP, which wants to silence every voice that speaks the truth and asks questions”.

In a post on X, Congress MP and Gujarat party chief Shaktisinh Gohil said: “The Gujarat Samachar newspaper has always stood against power, no matter who is in power. However, Modi pulled out his favorite tool kit against Gujarat Samachar, who showed the BJP a mirror in the recent India-Pakistan ceasefire.”