Bengaluru, November 15: Sleuths of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday conducted a raid at the office of human rights watchdog Amnesty International in Bengaluru. According to reports, the raid was conducted in connection with the alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) by Amnesty International. PM Narendra Modi 'Must End Lockdown' in Jammu & Kashmir Immediately: Amnesty International.

After the raid, the CBI in a statement said, "Foreign contributions were received even though prior registration was denied to Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) & other Trusts under FCRA. Searches were conducted at 3 places in Bengaluru and at one place in Delhi. Investigation is continuing."

CBI's Statement:

Reacting to CBI raids, Amnesty said, " Over the past year, a pattern of harassment has emerged every time Amnesty India stands up and speaks out against human rights violations in India."

The CBI raid comes three months after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued a show-cause notice to Amnesty International for alleged contravention of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to the tune of over Rs 51 crore. The show-cause notice was issued by the Adjudicating Authority of the FEMA, which is a special director rank officer of the ED.

Amnesty International India, however, denied charges of violating the foreign exchange law. The ED, in October last year, had conducted searches at the offices of the NGO in Bengaluru on charges of an alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).

The federal probe agency had then said that after Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) was denied the permission/registration under FCRA by the Ministry of Home Affairs, but they “resorted to bypass the FCRA” by floating commercial entity in the name of Amnesty lnternational India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 15, 2019 05:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).