New Delhi: The special cell of Delhi police has conducted a second round of questioning involving 25 journalists and contributors associated with NewsClick, PTI reported on Tuesday.
The questioning was conducted in connection with a UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act) case registered against the online news portal.
The case alleges that the portal was involved in promoting an “anti-national” agenda within the country.
Notably, the investigation into this case is ongoing, and as of now, no one has been cleared of involvement.
Earlier, on October 3, around 46 individuals, including nine female journalists, were questioned in connection with this case during simultaneous raids conducted by the special cell in Delhi and the NCR (National Capital Region).
Following the arrests of NewsClick’s editor-in-chief, Prabir Purkayastha, and its human relations head, Amit Chakravarty, on October 3, more than 300 electronic devices were seized from NewsClick’s office and the residences of its journalists.
These devices have been sent to the forensic science lab for examination to extract any relevant content related to the case.
According to the remand copy submitted to the court on October 4, the Delhi Police alleged that Neville Roy Singham, Prabir Purkayastha, and Amit Chakravarty were in direct communication and were discussing plans to create a map of India without Kashmir and depict Arunachal Pradesh as a disputed area.
The remand copy also claimed that foreign funds were received by accused individuals, totaling more than Rs 115 crore, through companies named PPK NewsClick, GSPAN India, JJ Enterprises, and Virtunet System.
Currently, the seven-day police remand for Purkayastha and Chakravarty is set to expire on Tuesday. It is expected that both accused individuals will be produced before the court on Tuesday morning, and the investigating officer may seek an extension of their remand. The Delhi Police had originally registered this case under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the IPC (Indian Penal Code) on August 17.
