Prabir Purkayastha, the founder and Editor-in-Chief of NewsClick, along with Amit Chakravarty, the Human Resources Head at NewsClick, were taken into custody by the Delhi Police on Tuesday. This action was undertaken in relation to a case filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), which stemmed from allegations that NewsClick had received funds for promoting pro-China content.
Earlier in the day, Prabir Purkayastha had been brought to the Delhi Police Special Cell office for questioning, and subsequently, the police sealed the premises of NewsClick.
On the same day, the Delhi Police conducted searches at the residences of several journalists and employees connected to the online portal NewsClick in connection with the UAPA case. During these searches, law enforcement officials confiscated electronic evidence, including laptops and mobile phones, and obtained data dumps from hard disks. These actions were carried out based on information provided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which had raised concerns about the alleged involvement of the individuals in unlawful activities.
Sources have indicated that the police presented a list of 25 questions to the individuals, covering a range of topics such as their international travels, involvement in protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Shaheen Bagh, and participation in the farmers' agitation.
The Press Club of India (PCI) expressed its deep concern about these raids on the residences of journalists and writers affiliated with NewsClick. In a statement, the PCI conveyed its intention to closely monitor the developments and release a comprehensive statement regarding the situation. The PCI further asserted its solidarity with the journalists and urged the government to provide detailed information on the matter.
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