NewsClick Raid: 46 Investigated, Office sealed, Journalist & Activist Condemn Police Action

On Tuesday, the Special Cell of Delhi Police Arrested NewsClick founder and editor-in-chief, Prabir Purkayastha and the head of its HR department, Amit Chakravarty, after day-long searches at over 50 locations linked to the news portal, its employees and contributors.

Police reported that a total of 46 “suspects” had been interrogated and their “digital devices” were taken away following the searches in Mumbai and Delhi. The news portal’s Delhi office was also seized by the police.

According to sources, the police operation was based on an FIR that was filed on August 17 based on information provided by the Enforcement Directorate that NewsClick had allegedly received illegal funds from China that were channelled through the US. In February 2021, as part of its investigation into alleged foreign remittances received between 2018 and 2021, the ED searched NewsClick’s offices.

In the course of an “anti-terror” inquiry, journalists whose offices were seized by the Delhi police on October 3 in the morning were asked if they had covered stories regarding the COVID-19 problem, the farmers’ protest against the Modi government’s laws, or the 2020 Delhi riots.

The Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and other IPC sections, including Sections 153A (promote enmity between two groups) and 120B (criminal conspiracy), were used to file a complaint against the organization in August. This action was taken as a result of allegations made in a New York Times report that the website had received funding from US millionaire Neville Roy Singham and that it had promoted talking points from the Chinese government. Anurag Thakur, the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, accused NewsClick of promoting an anti-Indian agenda.

Abhisar Sharma, Bhasha Singh, Urmilesh, Aunindyo Chakravarty, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Satyam Tiwari, Subodh Verma, cartoonist Irfan, historian Sohail Hashmi, and satirist Sanjay Rajouri were among those who were interrogated and/or searched. Teesta Setalvad’s workplace and house in Mumbai were also searched.

Reacting to the Questions asked to him during the Investigation, Abhisar Sharma shared a video on the Microblogging platform X.

NEWSCLICK मामले में मेरा जवाब: pic.twitter.com/CwD7oua7Ec

— Abhisar Sharma (@abhisar_sharma) October 4, 2023

In connection with the investigation, a police team also went to the home of Sitaram Yechury, the leader of the CPI(M). “Since the son of one of my employees works for NewsClick, they came to my house early in the morning. His phone and other electronics were taken. There, he works as a graphic designer, Yechury informed the media.

The police’s line of inquiry was revealed by journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, who was taken to the special cell’s office around 8 a.m. and discharged at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. He was questioned about using the Signal communications software and whether he had phoned his brother-in-law’s US phone number. Additionally, he was questioned about his coverage of the farmers’ protest and the Delhi riots.
“What has happened is in the public domain. They may call me again,” said Paranjoy Guha.

Many people view the police move as an assault on one of India’s few independent media sites, and it has raised worries about the country’s declining press freedom. Authorities conducted such raids at the BBC’s offices in New Delhi and Mumbai in February of this year, a few weeks after the broadcast of a film critical of Narendra Modi. The journalist advocacy group Reporters Without Borders put India 161st in its press freedom rankings this year, its lowest ranking ever, claiming a decline from “problematic” to “very bad.”

The Editors Guild of India and the Press Club of India asked the government to submit information in support of the journalists in question.

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