New Delhi: NewsClick founder and Editor-In-Chief Prabir Purkayastha who has been arrested in connection with a Chinese funding case has been sent to a 7-day police custody, according to officials privy to the investigation.
Two people, including Purkayastha, arrested in connection with funding case sent to 7-day police custody, PTI reported citing Officials.
Purkayastha and his portal's HR Head Amit Chakravarty were arrested on Tuesday after marathon raids and interrogations by the Delhi Police. Delhi Police statement, in a statement, said it questioned “39 male suspects and 9 female suspects”, who were mostly young journalists.
The Delhi Police said the arrest follows a probe in the portal's foreign funding.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Delhi Police searched 30 locations connected with the online news portal and its journalists in a case filed under the anti-terror law UAPA following allegations that it received money for pro-China propaganda.
Digital devices, documents and other items have been seized for examination.
Also, there was no immediate information on how Chakravarty is connected with the portal and the case.
The early morning searches were concentrated in Delhi-NCR and the portal's founder was taken to the Special Cell's office for questioning.
Urmilesh, Aunindyo Chakravarty, Abhisar Sharma, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, are among the journalists questioned by the Special Cell. Historian Sohail Hashmi, satirist Sanjay Rajoura and D Raghunandan of the Centre for Technology & Development, were also interrogated by multiple teams from the Delhi Police, before being let off after six hours of questioning.
"After a day long interrogation by Delhi special cell, I am back home. Each and every question posed will be answered. Nothing to fear. And I will keep questioning people in power and particularly those who are afraid of simple questions. Not backing down at any cost(sic)," Abhisar Sharma wrote on X.
On August 17, Delhi Police registered a fresh case against the news portal under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and other sections of IPC, including Section 153A (promoting enmity between two groups), and 120B (criminal conspiracy).
Since 2021, the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police has been investigating a complaint alleging NewsClick of having indulged in suspicious foreign funding. The EoW also registered an FIR against the portal.
Subsequently, the ED had attached a South Delhi flat, worth Rs 4.52 crore, linked to Purkayastha apart from fixed deposits worth Rs 41 lakh as part of this money laundering probe, in 2022.
