In a surprising twist of events, NewsClick’s founder and editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha was arrested by the Delhi Police under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). These charges are related to allegations of receiving funds for spreading pro-China propaganda.
This comes after the Delhi Police conducted searches at 30 locations connected to the online news portal and its journalists. The searches were conducted under the UAPA following accusations of receiving money for pro-China propaganda.
Amit Chakravarty, the HR head of the company, was also arrested on the same charges.
The police sealed NewsClick’s office in Delhi and questioned 46 suspects. They seized digital devices, including laptops and mobile phones, as well as documents for examination.
The Delhi Police Special Cell raided various locations of journalists in Delhi-NCR in connection with the UAPA case.
The searches began early in the morning and focused on Delhi-NCR. Earlier in the day, the portal’s founder and editor-in-chief, Prabir Purkayastha, was taken to the Special Cell’s office for questioning.
Among those questioned were journalists Urmilesh, Aunindyo Chakravarty, Abhisar Sharma, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, as well as historian Sohail Hashmi, satirist Sanjay Rajoura, and D Raghunandan of the Centre for Technology & Development.
“After a day-long interrogation by Delhi Special Cell, I am back home. Each and every question posed will be answered. Nothing to fear. And I will keep questioning people in power and particularly those who are afraid of simple questions. Not backing down at any cost,” Abhisar Sharma posted on X.
Addressing a gathering in Bhubaneswar, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said that probe agencies in the country are independent and work in accordance with the law.
“… If someone has done something wrong, probe agencies work on it… Nowhere it is written that if you have got money in an illegal manner or done something objectionable, then probe agencies cannot investigate that,” Thakur said.
The police action comes just days after a New York Times investigation revealed that NewsClick received funds for spreading Chinese propaganda. The media firm is under scrutiny by the Economic Offences Wing (EoW) of the Delhi Police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over allegations of receiving funds from China.
The police seized laptops and mobile phones belonging to several journalists. The majority of the people were questioned about their involvement with NewsClick and details about their calls to people living in foreign countries, according to sources quoted by PTI.
In 2021, the Economic Offenses Wing of the Delhi Police initiated an investigation against NewsClick regarding suspicious foreign funding. The EoW also registered an FIR in this case.
In 2022, the ED attached a South Delhi flat worth Rs 4.52 crore linked to Purkayastha, as well as fixed deposits worth Rs 41 lakh, as part of the money laundering probe.
Meanwhile, the National Alliance of Journalists, Delhi Union of Journalists, and Kerala Union of Working Journalists (Delhi unit) issued a statement claiming that the homes of Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Teesta Setalvad, Mahesh Kumar, Subodh Varma, Aditi Nigam, Mukund Jha, and others were raided this morning.
The opposing political parties in India have strongly criticized the actions of law enforcement, accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of conducting a “witch-hunt” against journalists who openly criticize the government. Opposition groups across the country have reacted strongly, considering these actions as an attack on journalistic freedom. These entities collectively assert that the BJP government’s “coercive” measures are selectively targeted against those who dare to expose the truth to the public, while conveniently ignoring those who spread bigotry and discord among the populace.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla, however, said, “The Congress preaching about the press is like Satan preaching about scriptures.” Congress leader Pawan Khera said that the early morning raids on contributing journalists at NewsClick are a “fresh distraction from the explosive findings of caste census in Bihar and the growing demand for caste census across the country.” “When he faces questions from out of the syllabus, he resorts to the only counter he has in his predictable syllabus – DISTRACTION,” Khera said on X.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said the searches are a sign of a “losing BJP.” “This is not a new thing, BJP rulers have always raided honest journalists. But how many crores of rupees are being given to ‘Mitra channels’ every month in the name of government ‘prachar-prasar’ (advertisements), anyone should also print this,” Yadav said in a post on X.
AAP chief national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar alleged that the Modi government is pretending to fight China by arresting journalists because it doesn’t have the courage to engage with it directly.
The Press Club of India said it is deeply concerned about the raids on the houses of journalists and writers associated with NewsClick.
“We are monitoring the developments and will release a detailed statement. The PCI stands in solidarity with the journalists and demands the government to come out with details,” it said.
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