The Delhi Police has accused NewsClick, the online news portal being probed for link to Chinese entities, of “undermining the unity and territorial integrity of India”. According to the FIR lodged by the Delhi Police, a large amount of money came in from China and paid news were “intentionally peddled”.
The FIR names NewsClick, the website's founder, Prabir Purkayastha, and its human resources head, Amit Chakravarty, as well as journalists and civil society activists, and accuses them of trying "to cause disaffection against India" and "threaten the unity, integrity, (and) security" of the country, NDTV reported on Friday. Purkayastha and Chakravarthy have been arrested in a case lodged under anti-terror law UAPA.
"In furtherance of this conspiracy to disrupt the sovereignty of India and cause disaffection against India, a large amount of funds was routed from China in a circuitous and camouflaged manner and paid news were intentionally peddled, criticising domestic policies, development projects of India and promoting, projecting and defending policies and programmes of the Chinese government," the FIR stated.
The document claims "foreign funds (were) fraudulently infused by Neville Roy Singham", an American millionaire believed to have close ties to the Chinese government's media machine. Singham's Worldwide Media Holding LLC became a shareholder of 7.69 per cent shares whereas Purkayastha held 91.38 per cent of the shares, police officials told The Week after Purkayastha's arrest earlier this week. The police investigation had revealed that in order to run the news website, Purkayastha followed a “well thought device” to fund the operations by disguising the funds received as Foreign Direct Investment. According to the FIR, Chinese telecom giants also have floated thousands of shell companies in India.
The Delhi Police also stated that Purkayastha conspired with a group—People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS)— to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Friday agreed to hear during the day a plea against the arrest of Purkayastha and Chakravarty. On Thursday, a trial court had directed the Delhi police to provide the duo with a copy of the FIR.
The Delhi Police on Tuesday raided over 80 locations in the Delhi in connection with the case. A total of 46 journalists and contributors to the NewsClick were questioned on Tuesday and their mobile phones and other electronic gadgets were seized.
-with PTI inputs