Who is Bahubali Shah? Gujarat Samachar co-owner detained by ED after raids

Gujarat Samachar co-owner Bahubali Shah on Friday was detained by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), a move that has been criticised by Opposition parties including the Congress and the Aam Admi Party.

Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi on Friday labelled the detention as a “conspiracy to suppress the voice of the entire democracy”. He added that the country would neither be governed by sticks nor fear, but by truth and the Constitution.

Bahubali Shah was detained on Friday, a day after the ED conducted raids in locations linked to him in Ahmedabad.

While the ED has not revealed the reasons for his detention, media reports claimed that the federal agency has charged him with ‘money laundering’. Livemint could not independently verify the reports.

Tushar Dave, head of digital services at GSTV, a Gujarati news channel owned by Shah's brother, said the ED detained Bahubali Shah in the early hours of Friday.

In a Facebook post, Dave revealed that Shah was first taken to VS Hospital by the ED and then admitted to Zydus Hospital in the city after his health condition deteriorated.

Here is everything you need to know about Bahubali Shah, who has been detained by the Enforcement Directorate.

Who is Bahubali Shah?

Bahubali Shah, 73, is the elder son of Shantilalbhai Shah, who is the founding editor of Gujarat Samachar – a 92-year-old newspaper that has become a staple in most Gujarati households.

Founded in 1932, Gujarat Samachar is run by Lok Prakashan Ltd, whose founding fathers include Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Morarjee Desai. Twenty years later, the company was acquired by Shantilalbhai Shah, whose family owns a 71.92 per cent stake in the company, as per Lok Prakashan's website.

Lok Prakashan, the publisher of the paper, is owned by Shantilalbhai Shah’s sons Bahubali and Shreyans Shah, and his daughter-in-law, Smrutiben Shreyans Shah. The family also owns the Gujarat Samachar TV, which was launched in 2012.

Bahubali Shah is one of the directors of Lok Prakashan and is responsible for the newspaper and its sister GSTV channel. Shreyans Shah is the managing editor of Gujarat Samachar.

Bahubali Shah holds 22.79 per cent direct share in Gujarat Samachar.

What did Rahul Gandhi say?

In an X post on Friday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi came out in support of Bahubali Shah.

"The country will neither be run by sticks nor by fear - India will be run by truth and the Constitution," he said.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha noted that the shutting down of newspapers that hold those in power accountable was indicative of a democracy in danger. The detention of Bahujbali Shah reveals that "politics of fear" has become the identity marker of the Narendra Modi government, he added.

"The attempt to silence Gujarat Samachar is another conspiracy to suppress the voice not just of one newspaper but of the entire democracy. When newspapers that hold power accountable are shut down, understand that democracy is in danger," Gandhi said.

"The detention of Bahubali Shah is a part of the same politics of fear, which has now become the identity of the Modi government," he added.