A special investigation team of the Kerala Police on Wednesday raided five premises, including the office of Reporter Broadcasting Company (RBC), which operates Reporter TV, in connection with a cheating case over the company’s failure to bring the Argentina football team led by its former captain Lionel Messi to Kochi for an international match last year. RBC was the sponsor of the proposed event. While the channel has denied the allegation, the Opposition has condemned the action as “reminiscent of the Emergency”.

This comes days after the Kochi city police registered an FIR against Reporter TV managing director Anto Augustine and RBC on charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating in connection with the alleged attempt to bring Messi to Kerala for the proposed match, which had generated much hype. After the Congress-led government came to office, the Sports Department examined RBC’s claim and allegedly found financial misappropriation and tax evasion under the guise of the event.

The FIR, registered based on an intimation from the SIT, named Reporter TV managing director and editor Anto Augustine as the first accused and RBC as the second accused. The FIR was registered under sections that deal with cheating by personation, cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, and criminal conspiracy.

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A day after the FIR was registered, police raided the houses of Anto and his brothers in Kochi and Wayanad, as well as the office of RBC, which runs Reporter TV.

The FIR said Anto and others had entered into a criminal conspiracy before December 2024 and fabricated fake agreements with the Argentina Football Association, leading to the Kerala government being allegedly cheated. The accused allegedly made illegal financial gains from the deal and induced the government to hand over the international stadium in Kochi to RBC.

The raid on Wednesday morning was telecast live. Although channel journalists claimed that their telecast was disrupted due to police excesses at its studio, the police denied the allegation.

ADGP P Vijayan told the media: “After the SIT was formed, we had ordered a preliminary probe. We had collected the reports from the sports department and collected necessary statements. As we prima facie believe there is a cognizable offence in the matter, an FIR was registered and a search warrant secured from the magistrate’s court. Anto Augustine is the first accused and RBC is the second accused. We have not disrupted the news telecast. We have not seized the mobile phones of any journalists as alleged. We have also videographed the entire process,” he said.

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Anto Augustine said they had cooperated with the probe. He also called it an attempt to silence the media.

“If the government has anything to ask about the football issue, they could have sought the details from me. The media was not handled like this even during the Emergency. Why did they raid the news desk and take custody of the phones of journalists? When journalists bring news to me, should we take the consent from V D Satheesan or the Home Minister (Ramesh Chennithala?” he asked.

Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the raid, calling it “reminiscent of the emergency days”.

“What has happened in Kerala is similar to the attacks on the media in BJP-ruled states. The action here is similar to the raids on the Newsclick office, during which equipment was seized, and the editor was jailed,” the former chief minister said. “Kerala will not accept this assault aimed at silencing the media. The Chief Minister and the Home Minister must answer for this attack on the media. We strongly condemn this disgraceful assault on press freedom.”