Prabir Purkayastha, founder and Editor-in-Chief of online news portal NewsClick, on Wednesday was sent to 7-day police custody in connection with a case filed under the Unlawful Activites (Prevention) Act. NewsClick HR head Amit Chakravarty, who was also arrested with Purkayastha, has also been sent to police custody. Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarty were produced before the judge at his residence on Wednesday morning.
Purkayastha and Chakravarty were arrested after Delhi Police conducted a raid at the NewsClick office and residences of 40 journalists and activists associated with the news portal. The Delhi Police raid came in the backdrop of allegations that the news portal received funding from China.
Following the raid, Delhi Police sealed NewsClick’s office in Delhi and 46 people were questioned. The police also took digital devices including laptops and mobile phones as well as documents for examination. Senior journalists Abhisar Sharma, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Urmilesh, and Aunindyo Chakravarty, satirist Sanjay Rajoura, historian Sohail Hashmi, and Centre for Technology and Development’s D Raghunandan were among those questioned for around 6 hours. They were allowed to go later on.
Majority of these people were questioned about their involvement with NewsClick and details about their calls to people living in foreign countries, news agency PTI reported citing sources. Delhi Police’s action against NewsClick comes after a report by The New York Times revealed American billionaire Neville Roy Singham’s financial connection to China and his alleged efforts to spread pro-Chinese propaganda.
Following this, the online news portal was on the radar of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW). In August this year, a case under the UAPA and other sections of the IPC including 153A (promoting enmity between two groups) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) was registered against NewsClick.
This, however, is not the first time that the government agencies have acted against NewsClick. In 2021, Delhi Police’s EOW started a probe against the news portal over suspicious foreign funding. An FIR was also registered in the case. A year later, the Enforcement Directorate attached a flat in South Delhi worth Rs 4.52 crore linked to Prabir Purkayastha besides fixed deposits worth Rs 41 lakh as part of a money laundering investigation.
Meanwhile, The Editors Guild said that the investigation of specific offences “must not create a general atmosphere of intimidation under the shadow of draconian laws, or impinge on the freedom of expression and the raising of dissenting and critical voices”.
The Press Club of India also said that it is deeply concerned about the raids on houses of journalists and writers involved with NewsClick. “We are monitoring the developments and will be releasing a detailed statement. The PCI stands in solidarity with the journalists and demands the government to come out with details,” it said.
(With inputs from Arvind Ojha)
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