The Central Bureau of Investigation raided the office of Amnesty International India in Bengaluru on Friday in connection with the accusations that it had received foreign funds in violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
The search operation lasted for nearly 10 hours. Reacting to the CBI raid, Amnesty India said: “A pattern of harassment has emerged every time the group stands up and speaks out against human rights violations in India”.
2/3 Over the past year, a pattern of harassment has emerged every time Amnesty International India stands up and speaks out against human rights violations in India.
Amnesty International India stands in full compliance with Indian and international law.
— Amnesty India (@AIIndia) November 15, 2019
“We stand in full compliance with Indian and international law. Our work in India, as elsewhere, is to uphold and fight for universal human rights. These are the same values that are enshrined in the Indian Constitution, and flow from a long and rich Indian tradition of pluralism, tolerance and dissent,” Amnesty India added.
ALSO READ: Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi retires, here is a report card on his key judgements
The CBI raid comes a year after the Enforcement Directorate had carried out investigations into charges that the human rights group had attempted to bypass the FCRA by floating a commercial entity, Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd.
(With ANI inputs)