On 25th December (Monday), Amit Chakravarty, the Head of Human Resources at the online portal Newsclick, filed a plea in a Delhi court to become an approver (government witness) in a case lodged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against Newsclick and its founder. It is alleged that the news portal “received foreign funds from Chinese agents to spread anti-India propaganda, disrupt India’s sovereignty, and cause disaffection against the country.”
BIG #BREAKING NEWS | Trouble mounts for Prabir Purkayastha in the NewsClick case
— Republic (@republic) December 25, 2023
As per sources Amit Chakraborty the HR head of the organisation who was arrested along with Prabir Purkayastha has now reportedly accepted to turn the approver,
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As per reports, Amit Chakravarty moved the application on 23rd December (Saturday) before Special Judge Hardeep Kaur in which he sought pardon in the case. In his application, he claimed that he had material information that he was willing to disclose to the Delhi Police, which is investigating the matter.
Subsequently, the judge posted the matter before a magisterial court to record his statement. Republic TV reported citing sources that his statements were recorded on Saturday.
The latest development comes shortly after the Patiala House Court in New Delhi granted a 60-day extension of judicial custody to Delhi Police, allowing them to complete their investigation into the case against Chakravarty and the founder of the news portal, Prabir Purkayastha.
Crackdown on NewsClick
The Delhi Police arrested both the founder and HR head of Newsclick on 3rd October under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The special cell of the Delhi Police had registered an FIR in the matter on 17th August under Sections 13, 16, 17, 18, and 22 of the UAPA and Sections 153A and 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the news portal.
On 3rd October, the NewsClick office was raided and sealed by Delhi Police in connection to the case regarding foreign funding from China to propagate anti-India narratives. Apart from locations linked to NewsClick, the residences of 40 journalists were also raided by Delhi Police across the country as they were connected to the news portal. Teesta Setalvad, Abhisar Sharma, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yetchury, Sanjay Rajoura, and others were among those who faced action by the Delhi Police.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also conducted searches at the company’s premises. Additionally, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a case under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
The investigation gained pace after the New York Times in August this year published a report stating that NewsClick had received ₹38 crore from a US-based millionaire Neville Roy Singham who allegedly has close ties with the propaganda arm of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
The FIR states that a large amount of funds to the news portal allegedly came from China to ‘disrupt the sovereignty of India’ and cause disaffection against the country.
“Foreign funds in crores have been infused illegally in India by Indian and Foreign entities inimical to India in pursuance of conspiracy with the intention to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, to cause disaffection against India and to threaten the unity, integrity, and security of India,” Delhi Police stated in the FIR.
It is further alleged that Newsclick founder Purkayastha conspired with a group named People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) in order to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
