NewsClick Founder Prabir Purkayastha, HR Head Arrested Under UAPA
Citing violations of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Delhi Police arrested Prabir Purkayastha, the founder and editor-in-chief of Delhi-based news portal NewsClick, along with Amit Chakravarty, the head of the company”s human resources department, following an extensive day-long operation involving searches, seizures, and detentions, on Tuesday.
According to Delhi Police, a total of 46 people were questioned in relation to the case, in which the police alleged that the news portal received funds for pro-China propaganda.
“A total of 37 male suspects have been questioned at premises, 9 female suspects have been questioned at their respective places of stay and digital devices, documents etc. have been seized/collected for examination,” Hindustan Times quoted Delhi Police as saying.
The journalists who were raided included Abhisar Sharma, Bhasha Singh, Urmilesh, and Aunindyo Chakravarty. In addition to these journalists, the writer Githa Hariharan, activist and historian Sohail Hashmi, and satirist and stand-up comic Sanjay Rajaura were also subjected to raids.
According to Delhi Police statements, NewsClick is said to have purportedly received approximately ₹38 crore from entities believed to have connections with China. These funds were allegedly utilized to promote pro-China content on the website. Police sources further explained that out of this amount, ₹29 crore was allegedly received as fees for export services, while ₹9 crore was obtained as foreign direct investment (FDI) through the inflation of share prices, reported NDTV.
Describing it as an “assault on the media by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government,” the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties had earlier criticized the Delhi Police”s actions against journalists and the NewsClick news portal today. The alliance urged the BJP Government to prioritize pressing national and public concerns instead of targeting the media in an attempt to divert attention from its shortcomings.
