New Delhi: Amit Chakravarty, the head of NewsClick's human resources department, has petitioned a Delhi court to be allowed to serve as an approver in the case brought under the anti-terror law UAPA due to claims that the news site was paid to spread pro-China propaganda, the court sources said.
Last week, Chakravarty brought the application before Special Judge Hardeep Kaur, requesting a pardon in the case and stating that he had important information he would be happy to share with the Delhi police, who are looking into the incident. According to police sources, the judge has scheduled a magistrate's court hearing to record Chakravarty's statement. After reviewing his statement, the agency will decide whether to support his application in court.
On October 3, Chakravarty and the news portal founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha, was taken into custody by the Delhi police Special Cell. Currently, they are in judicial custody.
The FIR claims that a large portion of the news portal's funding originated in China with the intention of "disrupting the sovereignty of India" and creating disaffection against the country. Additionally, it alleged that Purkayastha plotted to undermine the democratic process during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with the People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS).
On October 3, raids were carried out on the people listed in the FIR and those who emerged from the data analysis at 88 locations in Delhi and seven other states, the police said. Around 300 electronic devices were also taken from NewsClick's offices and the homes of the journalists, who were investigated. In all, 46 people, including nine female journalists, were questioned by the Special Cell after the raids.
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