Enforcement Directorate raids Amnesty office

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which investigates financial crimes, raided Amnesty's Bengaluru office on Thursday, a spokeswoman for the human rights watchdog said, in the latest crackdown on an international non-profit group in the country.

The raid was conducted on suspicion that Amnesty had violated foreign direct investment guidelines, the ED said in a statement, according to Reuters partner news agency ANI.

Officials began the raid at around 2 pm on Thursday, according to local media reports. At 11 pm, the raid was still ongoing, Smriti Singh, a spokeswoman for Amnesty in India told Reuters.

The scrutiny of the British-based organisation comes amid tightening surveillance of non-profit organisations in the country since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in 2014.

At least 10,000 civil society groups including environmental NGO Greenpeace have had their licences to receive foreign donations cancelled or suspended.

The government says some of the groups used funds to engage in “anti-national” activities.

“The searches at Amnesty International’s offices are being conducted for violation of the FDI guidelines,” the ED said. “Further investigation is under way.”

The Enforcement Directorate, which is part of the Finance Ministry, did not reply to calls and an email seeking further comment.

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