Bahubali Shah, co-owner of Gujarat Samachar, one of the oldest and highest circulating regional dailies, was arrested on Thursday night by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over alleged financial irregularities, news media reports said. He was later granted interim bail by a special PMLA court on health grounds.
Shah, one of the directors of Lok Prakashan, which owns Gujarat Samachar, was arrested on 14 May following raids on its offices and on people related to the organization. The ED has yet to issue an official statement.
Hindustan Times quoted Gujarat Samachar editor-in-chief and managing director Shreyans Shah as saying that the ED arrested his brother without any prior written notice after raids lasting 36 hours. He blamed a political vendetta for Babubali Shah’s arrest late Thursday.
According to Shreyans Shah, his brother was unwell after suffering a severe heart attack and accused the authorities of pressuring his brother to confess to “certain things.”
The raids pertained to some transactions 20 years ago. “All the transactions were done through the bank. We are ready to fight it in the courts. We do not have any criminal background. Why is my brother being treated like this?” Hindustan Times quoted Shreyans Shah as saying.
The Hindu quoted Tushar Dave, head of digital services at GSTV, a Gujarati news channel run by Shreyansh Shah, as saying in a Facebook post, “Shah was first taken to VS Hospital by the ED and then admitted to Zydus Hospital in the city after his health condition deteriorated.”
On 14 May, the income tax department raided multiple locations linked to Gujarat Samachar, including its headquarters, the residences of Bahubali Shah, Shreyans Shah, and the GSTV news channel office.
