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CBI Raids Prannoy Roy for ‘Causing Loss’ to Bank, NDTV Calls It Harassment

NDTV, in an official statement, refuted claims being made by the CBI.

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was conducting raids against NDTV founder Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy on Monday morning for causing an alleged loss of Rs 38 crore to a private bank.

Raids were being conducted at Roy’s residence at Greater Kailash-1 in New Delhi and in Dehradun. The loan was for a corporation named RRPR holdings Pvt Ltd.

However, NDTV, in an official statement, refuted claims being made by CBI and termed the raids “concerted harassment” based on “old endless false accusations.”

“This morning, the CBI stepped up the concerted harassment of NDTV and its promoters based on the same old endless false accusations. NDTV and its promoters will fight tirelessly against this witch-hunt by multiple agencies. We will not succumb to these attempts to blatantly undermine democracy and free speech in India,” stated NDTV.

Prannoy Roy had founded the TV network with Radhika Roy in 1988.

CBI spokesperson RK Gaur said, “CBI has registered a case against Prannoy Roy, Radhika Roy, a private company and others for causing an alleged loss to a bank. Searches are being conducted today at four places, including Delhi and Dehradun.”

In the past, the NDTV founder had been accused of receiving irregular promoter funding, in violation of the Reserve Bank of India Rules. NDTV was also served a notice by Enforcement Directorate in 2015 for allegedly violating foreign exchange norms which had involved an amount of Rs 2,030 crore.

The raids were underway at the time of filing this report.

First Published: June 5, 2017, 11:30 AM IST