In light of the news portal’s alleged connections to China, Delhi Police Special Cell conducted raids on the homes of journalists and staff members connected to NewsClick on Tuesday.
In light of the news portal’s alleged connections to China, Delhi Police Special Cell conducted raids on the homes of journalists and staff members connected to NewsClick on Tuesday.
The Delhi Police Special Cell is conducting a significant raid at around 30 locations in Delhi, Noida, and Ghaziabad.
A case has been filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) by the Delhi Police Special Cell.
The Special Cell of the Delhi Police confiscated electronic evidence during the operation, including laptops, mobile phones, and hard disk data dumps.
Based on information provided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which points to the suspects’ involvement in illegal activity, the Delhi Police conducts the searches.
A short three-year period, a fraudulent injection of foreign funds of Rs 38.05 crore was discovered after an ED inquiry.
The examination of the material by the ED found dubious inflows of foreign remittances of Rs 9.59 crore via FDI and Rs 28.46 crore via service exports.
The money was given to a number of questionable journalists, including Teestha Setalvad’s friends and colleagues as well as Gautam Navlakha.
The ED also provided Delhi Police with information regarding the China connection.
A government source stated, “It is about Indian sovereignty, not about freedom of speech. The Indian news portal NewsClick is one of the organizations supported by a network connected to US millionaire Neville Roy Singham for spreading Chinese propaganda, according to a New York Times investigation.
The insider went on to say that China’s support of NewsClick was “an assault on the sovereignty of India” and that “the way the funds are routed and transferred clearly points out to electronic evidences.” A significant amount of money has been funneled further into the system via electronic transfer. So-called journalists have received payments to propagate anti-Chinese propaganda. At this point, gathering evidence and getting to the bottom of the problem are crucial.
A complaint against the news portal had previously been filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which claimed that NewsClick had accepted foreign funds in violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
Additionally, the agency claimed that the funds were utilized for anti-national operations.
The outlet, according to a New York Times article, was a part of a global network that was funded by American millionaire Neville Roy Singham in order to “spread Chinese propaganda”.
The central investigation agency allegedly sold pro-China information on the website NewsClick after taking action against it, which was the first against a media company.
According to insiders, the investigation revealed a sequence of emails between Newsclick Director Prabir Purkayastha, millionaire Neville Roy Singham, and CPI(M) leaders including Prakash Karat, as well as other journalists.
Neville Roy Singham, who resides in China, allegedly paid NewClick Rs 38 crore illegally to disseminate pro-China propaganda in India, according to the ED.
Prabir Purkayastha, the director of Newsclick, and his staff members are charged with writing and posting paid news on their website in exchange for recurring payments provided by Singham to PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd.
