Delhi Police special cell's FIR accused바카라 웹사이트NewsClick journalists of indulging in "continuous unlawful activities" which were aimed at "undermining the unity and territorial integrity of India".바카라 웹사이트In a fresh blow to press freedom, a바카라 웹사이트total of 46 journalists and contributors to the NewsClick were questioned on Tuesday and their mobile phones and other electronic gadgets were seized바카라 웹사이트for alleged connections to China-linked entities to broadcast Chinese propaganda.바카라 웹사이트
The FIR accused바카라 웹사이트NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and바카라 웹사이트his associates Joseph Raj, Anoop Chakraborty (brother of Amit Chakraborty), Bappaditya Sinha (promoter of Virtunet Systems Pvt Ltd.) of siphoning off 'illegally routed foreign funds'. "It is also learnt that aforementioned funds were distributed to Gautam Navlakha, associates of Teesta Seetalwaad namely Javed Anand, Tamara, Jibran, Urmilesh, Aratrika Halder, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Trina Shankar, Abhisar Sharma," the FIR stated.
Details of the FIR against NewsClick
Purkayastha and Chakravarty were arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on Tuesday. On Thursday, a trial court in Delhi바카라 웹사이트directed the city police to provide the duo with a copy of the FIR, citing a 2016 order of the Supreme Court and a 2010 order of the Delhi High Court.바카라 웹사이트The Delhi Police served a copy of the FIR to the portal on Friday.바카라 웹사이트
According to a report by NDTV, the FIR names Prabir Purkayastha, the website's human resources head Amit Chakravarty, and a number of journalists and civil society activists and accuses them of trying "to cause disaffection against India" and "threaten the unity, integrity, (and) security" of the country. The FIR also states that바카라 웹사이트a large amount of funds came from China in order to disrupt India's sovereignty.
The FIR, which was accessed by바카라 웹사이트PTI, alleges that the accused journalists used a “large amount” of Chinese funding to publish “paid news” which criticised the policies of the Indian government and promoted the policies of the Chinese government.바카라 웹사이트 "In furtherance of this conspiracy to disrupt the sovereignty of India and cause disaffection against India, a large amount of funds was routed from China in a circuitous and camouflaged manner and paid news were intentionally peddled, criticising domestic policies, development projects of India and promoting, projecting and defending policies and programmes of the Chinese government," the FIR says.
After mentioning the claims against Newsclick,바카라 웹사이트and Singham – the US businessman whose funding of the news portal through open banking channels forms the basis for the police case,바카라 웹사이트the FIR says, "It is further learnt that big Chinese Telecom companies like Xiaomi, Vivo, etc. incorporated thousands of shell companies in India in violation of PMLA/FEMA for illegally infusing foreign funds in India in furtherance of this conspiracy,”바카라 웹사이트according to a report by The Wire.바카라 웹사이트
It also alleges that the founder and editor-in-chief of NewsClick, Prabir Purkayastha, conspired with a group -- People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) -- to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The police action drew sharp reaction from opposition parties and press bodies바카라 웹사이트which accused the BJP of indulging in a "witch-hunt" against journalists who criticise the government.바카라 웹사이트NewsClick is known for its critical reporting of the government. In the past as well,바카라 웹사이트several Indian media offices including BBC, The Quint, Dainik Bhaskar have been ‘searched’ after they showed signs of dissent against the government.바카라 웹사이트
