Kerala’s Special Investigation Team conducted court-warranted searches at five locations linked to the Reporter Broadcasting Company, including its Kochi headquarters and the homes of key officials. The raids are part of an investigation into alleged financial irregularities, tax exposure, and claimed government loss related to a previous bid to host Lionel Messi and the Argentina national team in Kochi. According to the investigation officer, officers entered the newsroom after the channel’s administrative side refused to accept a search notice.
During the operation, morning shift journalists alleged that police seized their phones for about ninety minutes and disrupted live news work, which the channel described as high-handed. Police countered that they did not wish to stop broadcasting and that the operation was based on an FIR registered at the Kalamassery station regarding the Messi file. The investigation is examining money moved for the abandoned event, how a private sponsor was chosen, and whether the state suffered avoidable loss.
The newsroom entry drew condemnation from an opposition leader, who called it an attack on media freedom and demanded answers from the chief minister and home minister. Journalist unions and a press club also protested the action, with a march planned to the city police chief’s office.