New Delhi: Delhi Police in its over 8,500-page chargesheet alleges that the accused in the NewsClick case received a handsome amount which was then utilised to “destabilise the country”, ThePrint has learnt. The chargesheet is yet to be filed in court.
On October 3 last year, the Delhi Police arrested Prabir Purkayastha, founder and editor-in-chief of NewsClick, along with the head of its human resource department Amit Chakravarty, in this case.
The two were arrested under stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act following a report by The New York Times alleging that NewsClick received money for ‘pro-China propaganda’ — a charge the Delhi-based news portal has categorically denied.
In January this year, the court pardoned accused Amit Chakraborty and allowed him to turn approver in the case.
ThePrint reached Arshdeep Singh Khurana, counsel for Purkayastha, for comment and was told that he would “get back” with a response. This report will be updated when a response is received.
While NewsClick was already under investigation by the Delhi Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over allegations of money laundering, the Delhi Police had in August last year lodged a fresh case against the portal to probe the “proceeds of crime”.
Police sources have now told ThePrint that the chargesheet filed in this case by the Delhi Police Special Cell accuses NewsClick of having received a handsome amount which it then used to “destabilise the country” by creating narratives and attempting to disrupt the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The Delhi Police Special Cell had approached a Delhi court in December last year seeking an extension of three months to file the chargesheet and was in turn granted 60 days. In February this year, the court granted another 20 days for the police to prepare and file a chargesheet before it.
“These funds (that NewsClick has been accused of receiving) were received from China and routed illegally into India and used to finance narratives against the country in a bid to destabilise the situation here through coverage on protests and violence like the farmer’s protest and the Citizenship Amendment Act and the Bhima Koregaon violence and the Covid crisis,” said a police source citing the contents of the chargesheet.
“This was a well-planned conspiracy. The accused also tried to create false and contorted narratives on Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh,” said the source, adding that the chargesheet “connects the dots” on how NewsClick tried to set an anti-India narrative and propagate pro-China sentiments.
As ThePrint reported earlier, the ED has alleged that the news portal allegedly received funds from China, routed through the US, amounting to Rs 76.84 crore.
Investigating agencies have also alleged that NewsClick received funds illegally from US-based billionaire Neville Roy Singham who the report in NYT alleged was “at the centre” of a “global web of Chinese propaganda”.
Acting on information shared by the ED, the Delhi Police had in October last year raided more than 30 locations across Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad and Mumbai including offices, homes of journalists and other addresses associated with NewsClick in connection with its probe. Several journalists and activists were questioned in connection with the case.
It is learnt that the chargesheet prepared by the Delhi Police also mentions the more than 480 electronic devices seized during the raids, along with details of bank transactions, mail trails and “incriminating files”.
The Delhi Police had in its FIR in the case invoked sections 13, 16, 17, 18 and 22 of the UAPA, along with IPC sections 153A and 120B Purkayastha, Singham and activist Gautam Navlakha, were named as accused in the FIR. Navlakha was also questioned in the case.
As ThePrint reported earlier, the FIR also claimed that funds received by NewsClick were allegedly distributed to journalists who were also associates of activist Teesta Setalvad.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: ‘Gross FCRA violations, unexplained export remittance’ — what CBI says in FIR against NewsClick