Major action taken against NewsClick: After the raid, now offices in Delhi sealed

Legal clampdown is being tightened on the online news portal ‘NewsClick’. Delhi’s Special Cell raided the office of Newsclick and the locations of its associated journalists and writers.

Now the officials of the Special Cell of Delhi Police have now sealed the office of Newsclick. Delhi Police Special Cell on Tuesday raided 30 premises linked to online news portal ‘Newsclick’ and its journalists in a case registered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). This action has been taken after ‘NewsClick’ was accused of taking money for campaigning in support of China. Officials said some journalists, including Urmilesh and Abhisar Sharma, were taken to the Special Cell office on Lodhi Road for questioning. Sources said that the Special Cell team asked him 25 questions. “He was asked questions regarding his foreign trips, Shaheen Bagh protest, farmers’ protest and others,” a source said. It is being told that a team of forensic department was also present in the South Delhi office of Newsclick. Newsclick founder and chief editor Prabir Purkayastha was also taken to the news portal’s office.This website was recently in the news for allegedly receiving money from American millionaire Neville Roy Singham for pro-China propaganda in India.

Officials aware of the incident said that the police have seized laptops and mobile phones of some journalists of ‘Newsclick’. A team of the Special Cell interrogated journalist Abhisar Sharma at his house in Noida Extension, after which they took him with them. The raiding squad reached the journalist’s house in the morning and confiscated his gadgets like mobile phone and laptop.

Delhi Police sources said the raids, which began on Tuesday morning, were carried out in connection with a case registered in August under UAPA and sections 153A (promoting enmity between two groups) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).