The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday filed a first information report against independent media outlet NewsClick for allegedly violating the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act
In a post on X, the media outlet confirmed that search and seizure operations are happening in their office and the residence of NewsClick’s editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha.
Purkayastha and NewsClick’s human resources head Amit Chakraborty to judicial custody for 10 days in a case filed by the Delhi Police under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
The actions against the news outlet have sparked protests from journalists who cite it as an example of sliding press freedom in India.
In 2021, the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing filed a case against the news outfit, alleging that it had received foreign direct investment from a United States-based company in violation of a law that caps FDI in a digital news website at 26%.
The latest crackdown comes days after a New York Times investigation alleged that the news portal had received funding from a network pushing Chinese propaganda.
An FIR was filed against NewsClick on 17 August under several sections (13, 16, 17, 18, and 22) of the draconian UAPA along with 153(a) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 120 (b) (party to a criminal conspiracy other than a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence) of the Indian Penal Code.
