Delhi High Court agreed to hear today i.e. on Friday a petition filed against the arrest of Prabir Purkayastha, founder of news portal ‘Newsclick’ and Human Resources Department head Amit Chakraborty.
NewsClick is accused of disrupting India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
According to the FIR, news website Newsclick is being investigated for alleged links with organizations linked to China.
NewsClick has been accused of conspiracy to “disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India”.
The FIR names NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha, the website’s human resources (HR) department head Amit Chakraborty and several journalists and social activists and charges them with “inciting disaffection against India” and “deterring the unity, integrity and security of the country”. They have been accused of trying to “endanger”
Police officials had said that on Tuesday, 46 journalists and contributors associated with ‘News Click’ were questioned and digital devices including laptops and mobile phones and documents were seized for investigation.
Journalist bodies on Thursday expressed concern over police raids on journalists’ premises and appealed to the government to ensure a fair investigation. They said that the government should respect the freedom of the press.
The FIR states, “… secret inputs have been received that foreign funds amounting to crores of rupees have been illegally invested in India by foreign entities… since April 2018, M/s PPK has been arrested for such fraud amounting to crores of rupees. The funds were received. Newsclick Studios Private Limited received funds amounting to crores of rupees through illegal means during a short period of five years…”
The document claims, “The foreign funds were fraudulently invested by Neville Roy Singham. He is an American millionaire who is said to have close links to the media machinery of the Chinese government.”
The FIR claims that the funds were Sent from China “clandestinely” and used for paid news. Paid news deliberately… criticized India’s domestic policies, development projects…”.
Let us tell you that Neville Roy Singham is not only accused of working against India. The name of this businessman based in Shanghai, China was also mentioned in a report by The New York Times.
This report claimed that Neville Roy Singham has a worldwide financial network supporting China’s propaganda.
