Income Tax raids offices of think tank CPR, Oxfam India, trust that funds digital media

New Delhi: The income tax department Wednesday carried out surveys at over 100 locations across the country, including offices of prominent Delhi-based think tank Centre for Policy Research (CPR), Bengaluru-based Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation (IPSMF), non-profit organization Oxfam, and at properties of businessmen and private individuals,

No response has yet been received from any of the organizations facing action.

Sources in the tax department told NDTV that the "surveys" are connected to simultaneous action in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, among other places, "over funding of more than 20 registered but non-recognized political parties". News agency PTI said, citing sources, that the action is part of a probe over foreign donations. No official statement is out yet.

Bengaluru-based trust IPSMF which partly funds a number of digital media outlets such as The Caravan, The Print, and Swarajya is known for investigative stories that question the governments of the day.

The most recent cover story in The Caravan — a magazine and portal backed by the Foundation — questioned a probe report that cleared PM Narendra Modi of any role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The Supreme Court recently praised and relied on that report to reject pleas to further investigate the then chief minister Modi.

The Chairperson of the IPSMF is journalist TS Ninan, while trustees include actor Amol Palekar. Among its donors are the Premji, Godrej, and Nilekani business families.

Think tank CPR, too, is known to examine government policy with a critical eye. It was once headed by academician Pratap Bhanu Mehta, a prominent critic of the current BJP government. At present, its governing board is chaired by Meenakshi Gopinath, who taught at Jawaharlal Nehru University and was the principal of Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi. Formed in 1973, CPR lists "asking the relevant questions" among its goals.

Also facing action is Oxfam India, which is part of a global consortium of NGOs under the Oxfam umbrella. Its website says it "campaigns with the public to demand policy changes from governments for creating a just and inclusive country as envisioned in the Indian Constitution".

A team of more than 10 officers is inside the CPR office at Chanakyapuri since noon, sources said. The surveys are likely to go on through the night. The staff has not been allowed to leave.