New Delhi, Oct 26 (IT): Hours after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials raided its Bengaluru office, human rights watchdog Amnesty India (Indian wing of Amnesty International) has said the raids show a disturbing pattern of the government trying to silence organisations critical of its functioning.

Responding to Thursday's raids, Amnesty India in a tweet said: "ED raid on Amnesty India shows a disturbing pattern of the government silencing organisations that question power. It is clear that the government wants to instill fear among civil society organisations."

On Thursday, ED officials raided Amnesty India's office at two locations in Bangalore in connection with a foreign exchange contravention case against it. ED officials said the searches are being conducted under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and the central probe agency is looking for documents.

Amnesty India said that the raid lasted nearly 10 hours and ended around midnight. It said its staff "fully cooperated" with the ED officials. "We reiterate, our structure is compliant with Indian laws," the organisation said.

The statement, in the form of a series of tweets, said that during the raids, Amnesty India's staff was not allowed to move out.

It said their laptops were shut down and employees were not allowed to use mobile phones to call friends and families.

Later, in a detailed statement, Amnesty India said the ED has frozen its bank accounts, which has effectively stooped its work. "Amnesty India is thus the latest target of the government's assault on civil society in the country," it said.

"Government authorities are increasingly treating human rights organisations like criminal enterprises," said Executive Director of Amnesty India Aakar Patel. "As an organisation committed to the rule of law, our operations in India have always conformed with our national regulations. The principles of transparency and accountability are at the heart of our work."

The statement said that most of the documents that the ED asked during the raid were available in the public domain or were already filed with the relevant authorities.

"We could not agree more with the Prime Minister when he says that periods of repression, like during the Emergency, have left a stain on India's history. Sadly, those dark days are now casting a shadow over India again. Instead of protecting human rights, as it vowed to do, the government is now targeting the people who fight for them", said Aakar Patel.