Published on: March 29, 2024 at 21:17 IST
Delhi Police Special Cell is set to present its exhaustive 8,000-page chargesheet before a Delhi court in the NewsClick case on March 30. This case has garnered attention as it implicates editors, co-founders, and employees of the news portal, alongside US-based billionaire Neville Roy Singham, as “accused.”
Allegations under the anti-terror law and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) suggest that NewsClick received substantial funds, exceeding ₹80 crore, from Chinese entities to purportedly spread pro-China propaganda.
The investigation, which began with the arrest of NewsClick founder and editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarty, head of the HR department, last October, has now culminated in this chargesheet. Notably, the court recently granted the police an extension of 10 days to finalize their investigation against Purkayastha. Moreover, the judicial custody of Amit Chakravarty, now turned approver, has also been extended by 10 days.
The FIR underlying this case alleges a concerted effort to disrupt India’s sovereignty, citing substantial funds from China to NewsClick. It further accuses Purkayastha of collaborating with the People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) to undermine the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Earlier raids conducted across 88 locations in Delhi and seven other states yielded around 300 electronic gadgets, seized from NewsClick’s offices and journalists’ residences. Subsequently, 46 individuals, including nine women journalists, were interrogated by the Special Cell.
This unfolding saga underscores the complexities at the intersection of media, geopolitics, and domestic security, with ramifications likely to reverberate through both journalistic and legal spheres.