The Delhi Police, in its extensive chargesheet, has described Prabir Purkayastha, the founder of NewsClick, as a proponent of “ultra-left ideology,” who was trying to mobilise the masses on various issues to “keep hammering and nailing the corpus of India”. The Delhi Police also told a court Purkayastha infused funds from China into India to stoke and sustain the 2020 Delhi riots, carry out disinformation campaign on Covid-19, stoke the farmer’s protest and indulge in outright terror funding in Kashmir.
Purkayastha was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell on October 3 last year under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
According to the police, he was part of an alleged conspiracy to “disrupt and rupture” all aspects of India, and his emails threw up discussions on topics such as “communism”, “issues for the working class”, issues in “neo-liberal era”, “Hezbollah”, “separatist movements” and capitalism.
The chargesheet, spanning 8,000 pages, not only targets Purkayastha but also names PPK NewsClick Studio Pvt. Ltd., the company behind the news portal, as an accused in the case. Purkayastha, along with Amit Chakravorty, the head of human resources at NewsClick, was arrested in October for their alleged involvement in activities aimed at undermining the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and unity of India.
However, Chakravorty has become an approver in the case, now designated as a “witness” in the chargesheet.
NewsClick has refuted these allegations, dismissing the police chargesheet as unfounded and aimed at stifling its independent journalism.
These arrests follow an investigative report by The New York Times, which alleged that NewsClick was part of a global network allegedly funded to disseminate Chinese propaganda. The report suggested that Neville Roy Singham, a Shanghai-based businessman, provided financial backing to NewsClick and other outlets worldwide to incorporate Chinese government narratives into their coverage.
A Delhi court has taken cognizance the chargesheet.
In its chargesheet, the police claimed that emails exchanged between Purkayastha, Singham and others “demonstrate the evolution of a deep-rooted conspiracy which eventually manifested itself in several overt acts aimed at disrupting every aspect of State apparatus ordained by the Constitution of India”.
“The conspirators, subscribers of ultra-left ideology and practice, aimed at mass mobilization on different, independent issues only to keep hammering and nailing the corpus of India, whenever and wherever they could, to achieve their larger objectives i.e., weakening, destabilising, decimation and ultimate disintegration,” police said.
According to the chargesheet, a “larger conspiracy” began in 2016, aimed at disseminating misinformation and advancing Chinese propaganda. It alleges a flow of funds from various entities associated with Neville Roy Singham to Prabir Purkayastha, with the latter receiving nearly Rs 10 crore as a “consultant” between 2018 and 2021.
Activists Gautam Navlakha, Teesta Setalvad, and Harsh Mander have also been named in the chargesheet. The police have accused Navlakha and Purkayastha of financing Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba and Left Wing Extremists (LWE), and disbursing funds to “rioters” during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The chargesheet also said that employees of NewsClick actively participated in the Chakka Jam and were members of the Delhi Protest Solidarity Group.
“NewsClick has no links with the Maoists or any other terrorist organisation. We follow all relevant Indian laws in the course of our business dealings, and in particular, with respect to the receipt of foreign funds. All funding received by NewsClick has been through the appropriate banking channels and has been reported to the relevant authorities. This has been confirmed by the Reserve Bank of India to the Economic Offences Wing in proceedings before the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi,” the company said in a statement.
“All the UAPA charges levelled against NewsClick and its Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha are completely bogus and untenable. NewsClick and Prabir have neither been involved in any terrorist act nor any conspiracy. These allegations and the persecution of NewsClick are an attempt to silence our independent journalism,” it added.