Police in the Indian capital, Delhi, have raided the homes of several prominent journalists and authors in connection with an investigation into the funding of news website NewsClick.

On Tuesday morning, police seized mobile phones and laptops from those they raided.

NewsClick denies receiving illegal funds from China, but officials are investigating the allegations.

The move has been criticized as an intentional attack on press freedom.

NewsClick is an independent news and current affairs website that has been critical of the government since 2009. As a result of allegations that it violated India’s foreign direct investment rules in 2021, tax authorities raided the company.

A total of 30 locations were raided on Tuesday, making it one of the largest and most extensive raids on India’s media in recent years. According to opposition leaders, it is a “fresh attack on the media” by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, however, has denied that the government played any role, saying that the investigative agencies were simply doing their jobs.

NewsClick editor Prabir Purkayastha, journalists Abhisar Sharma, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Aunindyo Chakravarty, Bhasha Singh, as well as popular satirist Sanjay Rajoura and historian Sohail Hashmi have been searched. It has been reported that some of them have been taken to police stations to be questioned.

A search was also underway at the website’s office in Delhi, according to the news agency ANI.

The house of activist Teesta Setalvad was also searched in Mumbai. In addition to fighting for the victims of the deadly 2002 riots in Gujarat state, Ms Setalvad has written critical articles for Newsclick critical of the government.