25 NewsClick Journalists Questioned Again In Chinese Funding Case As Delhi Police Seeks Founder's Remand Extension

In connection with a Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case registered against the online news portal NewsClick for allegedly promoting Chinese propaganda, the Delhi Police Special Cell has re-questioned about 25 journalists and contributors on Monday (9 October).

The investigation is ongoing, and as of now, no one has been cleared of involvement, according to Deccan Herald sources.

Following the arrests of NewsClick's editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha and human relations head Amit Chakravarty, a police officer stated, "Everyone has been summoned for a second round of questioning. Approximately 25 individuals have participated in the process so far."

On 3 October, the Special Cell conducted raids and questioned about 46 people, including nine women journalists. Also, more than 300 electronic gadgets were seized from the portal's office and journalists' residences.

The seized gadgets have been sent to the Forensic Science Lab (FSL) for examination and extraction of any content related to the case.

The remand copy submitted to the court on 4 October revealed that the analysis of emails showed direct communication between Neville Roy Singham, Prabir Purkayastha, and Amit Chakravarty.

They were allegedly discussing plans to depict a map of India without Kashmir and to label Arunachal Pradesh as a disputed area.

"To achieve the above objective, the accused persons, in the guise of foreign funds, received money of more than Rs 115 crore in the companies named as PPK NewsClick, GSPAN India, JJ Enterprises, Virtunet System," stated the remand copy.

The seven-day police remand of Purkayastha and Chakravarty granted by the court is ending today. The investigating officer may seek an extension of their remand during the court appearance on Tuesday morning.

The Delhi Police had registered a case under sections 13, 16, 17, 18, and 22 of the UAPA and sections 153A (promoting enmity between two groups) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC on 17 August.