Abhitesh
Delhi Police arrested Prabir Purkayastha, founder and editor-in-chief of NewsClick, and Amit Chakravarty, head of human resources for the company, on Tuesday under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The search, seizures, and detentions took all day. Before, the founder of the portal was taken to the special cell office of the Delhi Police to be questioned about the case under the anti-terror law. This was because it was said that the portal got money to spread pro-China propaganda.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Police raided the homes of several journalists who worked for the news site and took a number of their electronic devices, such as laptops, cell phones, and hard drives, as proof.
Officials from the police force say that 46 people have been questioned about the case in different places. People brought the case on August 17 under the UAPA and different parts of the Indian Penal Code.
“A total of 37 male suspects have been questioned at the premises, and 9 female suspects have been questioned at their homes. Digital devices, documents, and other items have been taken and will be examined,” Delhi Police said.
There was a list of 25 questions asked of the journalists about a wide range of topics, such as their trips abroad, their protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and the problems farmers were having.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had searched different places linked to the business in the past to find out where the money was coming from. Officials say that the special cell is looking based on what the main investigation agency tells them.
The New York Times said that NewsClick got money from US businessman Neville Roy Singham. This made people interested in the company. People know that Singham backs China and its lies in elections. There are also close ties between Singham and the media machine run by the Chinese government.
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There was “deep worry” from the Editors Guild of India about what took place. But Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that the raids were okay because there had to be proof or a report about the case.
