CBI Closes Case Against NDTV Founders After 7 Years Probe (image-facebook/Central Bureau of Investigation - CBI)
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday filed a closure report in a case of alleged cheating against former NDTV promoters and directors Prannoy Roy, Radhika Roy and others. The case was registered for causing a willful loss of over 48 crores to ICICI Bank due to lack of evidence.
The central agency initiated the investigation following the complaint filed by an individual, Sanjay Dutt, of Quantum Securities Ltd who alleged that RRPR Holdings Pvt Ltd, associated with the Roys and conducted searches at their residential premises in Delhi and Dehradun in May 2017.
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It was said that the company linked to the Roys had taken a Rs 500 crore loan from India Bulls Pvt Limited to acquire a 20 percent stake in NDTV.
However, the former CBI officers had flagged as unusual and irregular the fact the agency had taken cognizance of a private complaint in the matter even though ICICI bank had not filed any complaint of its own.
At the time of the incident, NDTV was considered to be the only television news channel who were critical of the Modi government. Thus, the CBI raids triggered protests by journalists and the opposition who flagged it to be an attack on press freedom.
The Roys were summoned and questioned by the central agency as late as 2022 while the Adani Group was moving to acquire the channel.
As per the Wire report, the loan acquired by NDTV and the Roys in 2009 from Vishvapradhan Commercial Pvt Ltd (VCPL) was also part of the CBI investigation. This entity was bought by Adani Group in order to acquire the channel. The agency alleged that the VCPL loan was taken to close the earlier loan availed by the channel from ICICI bank which resulted in an alleged loss of Rs 48 crore to the bank.
After the CBI’s 2017 action, NDTV accused the agency of “[stepping] up the concerted harassment of NDTV and its promoters based on the same old endless false accusations.”
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“NDTV and its promoters will fight tirelessly against this witch-hunt by multiple agencies,’ the channel statement said, adding: “We will not succumb to these attempts to blatantly undermine democracy and free speech in India. We have one message to those who are trying to destroy the institutions of India and everything it stands for: we will fight for our country and overcome these forces.”
