New Delhi: In a significant development, the Delhi Police Special Cell initiated extensive raids at multiple locations, exceeding 30 premises allegedly associated with NewsClick, a prominent news portal, on Tuesday. Sources within the Delhi Police have confirmed that these raids are currently ongoing, and as of now, no arrests have been made. The operation is part of a comprehensive investigation into alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) by NewsClick, with suspected links to Chinese interests.
Sleuths brought NewsClick writers Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Urmilesh to the special cell offices in the national capital. Two senior police officials also are at the special cell premises. This comes as Delhi police's raids are underway at different premises linked to NewsClick under UAPA and other sections. Police also raided the house of Teesta Setalvad in connection with media alleged funding by China in the news portal.
Sources informed that laptops, mobiles, diaries, and other seized articles were also brought by police to a special cell at the Lodhi Road office. The raids are being conducted on a case registered on August 17th under UAPA and other sections of IPC, which include UAPA, 153A of IPC (promoting enmity between two groups), and 120 B of IPC (criminal conspiracy). Counself for Urmilesh, Gaurav Yadav who also reached Delhi Police Special Cell office said he had no information on why the writer had been taken to the special cell office.
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Journalist @abhisar_sharma allegedly got Rs 45.69 lakhs from NewsClick.
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) August 7, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
Was it to run Chinese Propaganda?
Why's he silent on NY Times report? pic.twitter.com/aF2pR7qlKq
">Journalist @abhisar_sharma allegedly got Rs 45.69 lakhs from NewsClick.
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) August 7, 2023
Was it to run Chinese Propaganda?
Why's he silent on NY Times report? pic.twitter.com/aF2pR7qlKqJournalist @abhisar_sharma allegedly got Rs 45.69 lakhs from NewsClick.
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) August 7, 2023
Was it to run Chinese Propaganda?
Why's he silent on NY Times report? pic.twitter.com/aF2pR7qlKq
This recent crackdown comes in the wake of prior legal actions and investigations against NewsClick. On August 22, the Delhi High Court had issued a notice to Prabir Purkayastha, the Editor-in-Chief of NewsClick, in response to a plea filed by the Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EoW). The plea sought the court's intervention to vacate an interim order that had restrained the investigative agency from taking any coercive measures against the news portal. The high court had earlier, on July 7, 2021, issued an order safeguarding Prabir Purkayastha from arrest while emphasising his cooperation with the ongoing investigation.
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Shocking!
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) August 7, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
China was funding Teesta Setalvad via NewsClick.
Javed Anand, Husband of Teesta- 12.61 lakh
Tamara, Daughter of Teesta- 10.93 lakh
Jibran, Son of Teesta also got money
Newsclick is not just Chinese Funded propaganda website but also a source of funding Left Activist… pic.twitter.com/oNqpsHUHh5
">Shocking!
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) August 7, 2023
China was funding Teesta Setalvad via NewsClick.
Javed Anand, Husband of Teesta- 12.61 lakh
Tamara, Daughter of Teesta- 10.93 lakh
Jibran, Son of Teesta also got money
Newsclick is not just Chinese Funded propaganda website but also a source of funding Left Activist… pic.twitter.com/oNqpsHUHh5Shocking!
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) August 7, 2023
China was funding Teesta Setalvad via NewsClick.
Javed Anand, Husband of Teesta- 12.61 lakh
Tamara, Daughter of Teesta- 10.93 lakh
Jibran, Son of Teesta also got money
Newsclick is not just Chinese Funded propaganda website but also a source of funding Left Activist… pic.twitter.com/oNqpsHUHh5
The Economic Offences Wing's FIR outlined a case involving multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) - 406, 420, and 120-B. The investigation commenced following allegations of financial impropriety and the discovery of evidence pointing towards criminal activities. The FIR revealed a suspected conspiracy involving individuals and their foreign counterparts, who allegedly devised a deceptive scheme to acquire and receive funds. These funds were then purportedly utilised to carry out activities as instructed by foreign benefactors, camouflaging them as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
In response to the investigation, Prabir Purkayastha had joined the inquiry and provided balance sheets for PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd. spanning three financial years - 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020. However, the Economic Offences Wing contended that these documents lacked sufficient details concerning the source of revenue, expenditures, and the end-use of funds from FDI and foreign entities.
Notably, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had previously approached the Delhi High Court with a fresh application, characterising the case against NewsClick as a severe criminal conspiracy linked to paid news. Their allegations centred around purported violations of the FCRA through illicit foreign funding.
The ED's involvement dates back to February 2021 when they conducted searches and seizures at NewsClick's premises and the residences of its editors, focusing on potential money laundering activities. The ED's actions stemmed from an FIR filed by the Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing, which had raised concerns about foreign funding.
During the recent raids conducted by the Delhi Police Special Cell, electronic evidence, including laptops and mobile phones, were seized from the residence of senior media figure Abhisar Sharma. The investigative team also successfully extracted critical data from the confiscated hard disks.
One notable aspect of this unfolding story is the international dimension. A New York Times report had previously alleged that NewsClick was part of a global network financed by Neville Roy Singham, with the objective of disseminating Chinese propaganda. These claims had garnered substantial attention and had become a point of contention in Indian politics. In Parliament, the BJP had aggressively criticized the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi, citing the issue of alleged Chinese funding linked to NewsClick. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had raised the matter in the Lok Sabha in the presence of Rahul Gandhi, who had recently returned to Parliament. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur had also addressed this issue during a press conference, asserting that Rahul Gandhi should respond to the allegations regarding NewsClick's involvement in anti-India activities.
Counself for Urmilesh, Gaurav Yadav who also reached Delhi Police Special Cell office said he had no information on why the writer had been taken to the special cell office.
"Urmilesh's wife informed me that he has been arrested by Delhi Police. I have no other details as of now" the counsel told ANI. Speaking to ANI on the matter, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said that if anyone has done something, investigation agencies are free to carry out investigations. "I don't need to justify... If anyone has committed anything wrong, search agencies are free to carry out investigations against them under set guidelines," Thakur said.
BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam said strict actions will be taken on NewsClick or any other agency that will work on the funds from foreign countries. "Strict action will be taken on NewsClick or any other agency that will work on the funds from foreign countries to break the country. China does not want to see our country grow and it is trying to use anti-national agencies against the country".
Congress spokesperson and permanent invitee to the CWC Gurdeep Sappal criticised the government for this action "So the crackdown media and journalists is not just a matter of a instant causation. It is expression of the political philosophy of BJP/RSS, it represents the India they want to create surreptitiously" Sappal said in a post on X. Earlier on August 10 a report in the New York Times had alleged that NewsClick, was part of a global network that receives funding from American billionaire Neville Roy Singham. Singham is known as a socialist benefactor of far-left causes, is at the centre of a lavishly funded influence campaign that defends China and pushes its propaganda. Neville Roy Singham is said to have close ties to the Chinese government media machine.
