The Delhi police carried out a raid at the residence of former NewsClick employee Anusha Paul near Kodumon in Pathanamthitta. Her laptop and phone were seized as part of the ongoing investigation into the digital media organisation for allegedly receiving illegal funding from China to push Chinese propaganda.
On Tuesday, Delhi Police Special Cell arrested news portal NewsClick founder and editor-in-chief, Prabir Purkayastha, and head of its human resource department, Amit Chakravarty, after day-long searches at over 50 locations linked to the news portal, its employees and contributors. They invoked the draconian anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Paul was staying in Kerala for the treatment of a close family member.
A three-member team of the Delhi Police recorded her statement and confiscated electronic devices on Friday, Paul told reporters.
She said she was questioned about her association with NewsClick and the CPI(M), and the questions ranged from whether she reported on farmers’ protest, anti-NRC-CAA protests, or about the COVID-19 management of the Centre.
“This is a witch-hunt to threaten the organisation and its employees who used to raise voice against the Narendra Modi government and the RSS,” she said.
She further said that the Delhi Police asked her whether she knows the Delhi state secretary of the CPI(M), K M Tiwari. “Of course, I know him. I told them that. He is the state secretary of the CPI(M). I am a CPI(M) worker. I am a state committee member of Delhi unit of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and its state treasurer,” she said.
Paul added that the Kerala police was not part of the raid team.
Delhi Police gives FIR copy to NewsClick
Earlier in the day, Delhi Police served a copy of the FIR to the new portal on Friday, a day after a city court directed it to do so.
Delhi Police alleged that a large sum of funds came from China to disrupt India’s sovereignty and cause disaffection against the country as part of a “larger criminal conspiracy”. It said that foreign fund was fraudulently infused by Neville Roy Singham, an active member of Communist Party of China.
“Chinese telecom giants like Xiaomi, Vivo etc, incorporated thousands of shell companies in India in violation of the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act), FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act), for illegally infusing foreign funds in India in furtherance of this conspiracy,” the police has alleged in the FIR.
“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.
According to the police FIR, this foreign fund was distributed to the supporters of banned Naxal organisation, activist Gautam Navlakha and associates of activist Teesta Setalvad, her husband and activist Javed Anand, Tamara, Jibran, and journalists Urmilesh, Aratrika Halder, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Trina Shankar and Abhisar Sharma.
The FIR was registered based a complaint by Delhi Police’s Special Cell inspector Praveen.
On August 17 this year, police registered an FIR under Sections 13 (punishment for unlawful activity), 16 (punishment for making demands of radioactive substances, nuclear devices, etc), 17 (punishment for funding terrorist act ), 18 (punishment for conspiracy) and 22C (punishment for offences by companies, societies or trusts)of UAPA and sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc), and 120B (whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy other than a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence) of the IPC.