Thiruvananthapuram | Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday said the police raid at the Kochi office of Malayalam news channel Reporter TV was part of a legal investigation and that the government would not intervene in it.
Addressing a press conference here after the weekly Cabinet meeting, Satheesan said he does not think that the police action had disrupted the channel's news broadcast and that he came to know about the development after seeing live reports on the same channel.
Explaining the circumstances behind the police action, he said an investigation was underway into the controversy surrounding the failed visit of legendary footballer Lionel Messi and his Argentina football team to Keralam and allegations of GST fraud.
Reporter Broadcasting Company (RBC) was the private commercial sponsor for the failed event and was authorised by the then state government to enter into an agreement with the Argentine Football Association (AFA).
The ongoing investigation is examining RBC's selection as sponsor, its financial transactions and arrangements linked to the proposed event, amid allegations of financial irregularities.
Satheesan said a Special Investigation Team headed by the ADGP in charge of law and order had registered an FIR and conducted the searches legally with a warrant.
The Sports Department had submitted a report to the government in connection with the controversy over the proposed visit of Messi and the Argentina team to the state, following which the Home Department examined it and constituted a SIT, he said.
The GST Department had also conducted an inquiry into the matter and its preliminary investigation had found GST fraud, Satheesan said.
"The raid is part of a legally conducted police investigation. The government will not intervene in it. The government does not want to intervene in any manner," he said.
He stressed that the raid was not part of any policy decision of the government but was an action being taken by the police as part of an independent investigation.
All the raids were conducted legally with warrants, he said
When reporters asked about the allegation by the channel management that investigators had seized the mobile phones of journalists when they entered the newsroom, Satheesan only said the entire action was part of the investigation.
The CM also criticised Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan for condemning the police action against the channel and referred to instances of similar action at various media organisations and cases registered against senior journalists during the latter's tenure as chief minister.
Satheesan's response came hours after a police team carried out a search at the Kochi headquarters of Reporter TV, with the channel alleging that the action disrupted its news operations.
The channel claimed that police personnel took away the mobile phones of journalists and other employees.
The Assistant Commissioner of Police, Thrikkakara, who was leading the search, however, said the channel personnel had not cooperated with the search.
