NewsClick case: Delhi Police to file over 9,000 page charge sheet on Saturday

Delhi Police is likely to submit a charge sheet, running to over 9,000 pages, in the NewsClick case in a court here on Saturday, accusing its founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha of accepting foreign funds to destabilise the country, sources said.

According to official sources, the charge sheet contains information regarding 480 electronic devices confiscated during various raids conducted throughout the investigation period.

Sources told IANS that Purkayastha has been identified as the primary suspect, while Amit Chakravarty, the HR head, has been granted the role of a witness. Chakravarty had submitted an application to a Delhi Court in December 2023, seeking to testify as a government witness.

The charge sheet alleges that Purkayastha accepted funds to undermine the stability of the nation by fabricating narratives and attempting to disrupt the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Although the specific IPC sections are yet to be disclosed, it is anticipated that the charge sheet will invoke provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

As per the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Delhi Police on August 17 last year, substantial sums of money were clandestinely transferred from China through a convoluted route. This money was then utilised to disseminate paid news articles deliberately criticising India's domestic policies and developmental initiatives while endorsing, advocating, and defending policies and initiatives of the Chinese government.

The allegations against NewsClick are they received approximately Rs 38 crore in funding from abroad, sources said.

The Delhi Police initiated this case based on information provided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) following its investigation last year.

The police FIR alleges that American billionaire Neville Roy Singham was continuously funding NewsClick.

On August 5, The New York Times published an article titled "A US Tech Mogul Linked to a Global Web of Chinese Propaganda," alleging that NewsClick, a news portal, was part of a global network receiving funding from American millionaire Singham, who was purportedly closely associated with Chinese government media.

Citing the NYT report, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur asserted that Congress, China, and NewsClick had an "anti-India umbilical cord" and were pushing the agenda of the Communist Party of China through the website.

After the NYT report, NewsClick issued a statement two days later, denying the allegations as baseless and lacking factual or legal support.

Interestingly, the FIR in the NewsClick case also mentioned activist and journalist Gautam Navlakha, who, according to the police, has been a shareholder in the Newsclick company since 2018.

The police alleged that Navlakha had been involved in anti-Indian activities, including active support for banned Maoist organisations and maintaining an anti-national connection with Ghulam Nabi Fai, an ISI agent from Pakistan.

According to the FIR, Navlakha has been associated with Purkayastha since 1991, when they established a company through which Purkayastha purportedly illicitly diverted foreign funds.