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Outlook dubs I-T raids an act of political vendetta

Outlook editor Vinod Mehta on Wednesday alleged that the income tax raids on the Raheja Group of Companies on Tuesday were in fact "a coarse and brutish attack on the institution of the free press in India" and his magazine, owned by the group, had been for some time "getting warnings from the people in the Vajpayee-led government".

In a signed statement, Mehta said, "We have reason to believe that the raids were fundamentally directed at intimidating the Outlook magazine, which is owned by the Raheja Group."

Mehta further alleged that "the raids on group companies like Exide Industries and Johnson Tiles were simply a ploy to mask the real purpose of the whole operation from the public".

He said I-T officials entered the Bombay editorial offices of Outlook at 0830 hrs on May 29 and "ransacked" them till 0630 hrs on May 30.

Journalists and managers were not allowed to conduct any work and were kept locked in the offices during the raid.

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