‘Chinese govt. was ultimate paymaster of NewsClick’
The Delhi Police have accused NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and human resources head of the news portal Amit Chakraborty of acting at the behest of the Chinese government, which the chargesheet describes as their “ultimate paymaster”.
The chargesheet led under anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) is primarily based on the police’s interpretation of strings of emails exchanged between Mr. Purkayastha, American millionaire Neville Roy Singham and a few others (whose role in the case is under investigation), along with the testimonies of protected witnesses, which includes employees of the news portal.
In the 169-page primary chargesheet that has 7,382 pages of annexures, the police say that Mr. Purkayastha and Mr. Singham were conspiring “nothing else but to forcibly replace Indian democracy with the party-state system similar to the one that exists in present-day China”.
The chargesheet also alleged that Mr. Purkayastha infused funds from China into India to stoke and sustain the 2020 Delhi riots and even the farmers’ protest.
The police said that the accused allied with, supported and funded Pakistan-sponsored Kashmiri terrorists’ groups and Maoist LWE (Left Wing Extremist)
organisations.
The chargesheet also alleged that out of the funds received from Mr. Singham, Mr. Purkayastha gave ₹36 lakh to a person with the direction to give it further to Sharjeel Imam for inciting the Delhi riots of 2020.
Meanwhile, NewsClick has rejected allegations made by the police in the chargesheet and maintained that neither is Mr. Purkayastha associated with any terror outt nor is there any evidence for the same.
The organisation said that the investigations by the Delhi Police and other agencies are attempts to target its independent journalism.
The Special Cell of the Delhi Police arrested Mr. Purkayastha and Mr. Chakraborty on October 3 last year. They have been in judicial custody since.
The chargesheet says accused wanted to replace Indian democracy with party-state system