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, Report informs via BBC.
Police have seized mobile phones and laptops of those they raided on Tuesday morning.
Officials are reportedly investigating allegations that NewsClick got illegal funds from China - a charge it denies.
Critics say the move is an intentional attack on press freedom.
Started in 2009, NewsClick is an independent news and current affairs website which is known to be critical of the government. In 2021, it was raided by tax authorities on allegations of breaking India's foreign direct investment rules.
The co-ordinated raids at 30 locations on Tuesday are some of the largest and most extensive on India's media in recent years. Opposition leaders have called it the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) government's "fresh attack on the media".
But Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur has denied any involvement of the government, saying that the investigative agencies were merely doing their job.