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ED looks into FIR against NewsClick to probe financial crimes
The Enforcement Directorate is studying the FIR filed by Delhi Police against NewsClick and its founder under the anti-terror law to see if an additional case is made out against the news portal. The federal agency is already investigating the funding of NewsClick and has seized the founder's flat. Delhi Police had registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against the website after a report alleged it was part of a global network to spread Chinese government propaganda.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is studying the first information report (FIR) filed by Delhi Police against NewsClick and its founder Prabir Purkayastha under the anti-terror law to see if an additional case is made out against the news portal, an agency official said on Saturday.
The federal agency that investigates financial crimes is already probing the funding of NewsClick since 2021 and has seized Purkayastha’s flat in New Delhi’s Saket in April.
In August, Delhi Police registered a case under stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against the website after a report in the New York Times alleged that the portal was part of a global network to spread Chinese government propaganda funded by American businessman Neville Roy Singham.
The development came even as a special cell officer said investigators were looking into 125,000 “ doubtful emails” allegedly exchanged between Singham and Purkayastha. The officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that police were also looking into purkayastha’s foreign trips and alleged anti national activity.
Police carried out raids and interrogated journalists on October 3. It arrested Purkayastha and human resources head Amit Chakravorty after the raids.
“We have obtained the FIR of Delhi Police special cell and are studying it to see if there are facts in it which can be looked further into as part of ongoing or a separate probe,” said an official, who didn’t want to be named.
The police complaint alleges that Purkayastha conspired with a group named Peoples Alliance for Democracy and Secularism to sabotage the 2019 general elections and that Chinese firms such as Xiaomi and Vivo incorporated shell companies to infuse foreign funds to further the conspiracy.
Citing secret inputs, it claims that Indian and foreign entities illegally infused funds worth crores, which was done in pursuance of conspiracy and intention to disrupt India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, cause disaffection and threaten the country’s unity and integrity.
The FIR cites emails between Purkayastha, Neville, and “some other Chinese employees” and says they “expose their intent to show that Arunachal Pradesh and Kashmir as not parts of India”.
“We have information that Singham himself is monitoring all the anti-national activities in India from a place in China. They are particularly active in some eastern and southern states of India, from where they are involved in anti-India activities. We are investigating whether the accused named in this FIR were in connivance with them or not,” said the special cell officer quoted above.
NewsClick has refuted the charges, saying that it never published any news or information at the behest of any Chinese entity or authority. It denied taking any directions from Singham.
“All funding received by NewsClick has been through the appropriate banking channels and been reported to the relevant authorities as required by law, as substantiated by the Reserve Bank of India in proceedings before the high court of Delhi,” the portal said in a statement.
