Delhi Police seeks more time to complete NewsClick probe

New Delhi, December 19

The Delhi police on Tuesday moved a court here seeking more time to complete its probe in the case lodged under anti-terror law UAPA over allegations that NewsClick portal received money to spread pro-China propaganda.

The application was moved before Special Judge Hardeep Kaur who posted the matter for hearing on December 22.

The application said the investigation will take more time to complete.

The Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested news portal’s Founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha and HR Head Amit Chakravarty on October 3.

They are currently in judicial custody.

According to the FIR, a large amount of funds to the news portal came from China to ‘disrupt the sovereignty of India’ and cause disaffection against the country.

It also alleged Purkayastha conspired with a group—People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) — to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Raids were conducted at 88 locations in Delhi and seven in other states on October 3 on the suspects named in the FIR and those that surfaced in the analysis of data, police said.

Around 300 electronic gadgets were also seized from the offices of NewsClick and the residences of the journalists who were examined.

Following the raids, 46 individuals, including nine female journalists, were questioned by the Special Cell.