STATEMENTS OF five protected witnesses associated with NewsClick form the backbone of the Delhi Police case against the media outlet’s Founder-editor Prabir Purkayasthaas detailed in its chargesheet filed under sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a Delhi court.
Purkayastha was arrested on October 3 along with NewsClick’s HR head Amit Chakraborty on allegations of receiving illegal funding from China, routed through the US.
The allegations detailed in the chargesheet range from funding Lashkar terrorists to inciting violence in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh and Chand Bagh to using reporters to distribute money during the farmers’ stir on the national capital’s borders.
On Tuesday, the court took cognizance of the supplementary chargesheet filed by the Delhi Police earlier this month. The case is listed for arguments on May 31.
NewsClick called the allegations “bogus, absurd, and concocted”, and said it will “contest these statements” in court.
The chargesheet names 207 witnesses, including eight protected witnesses. “Five of the protected witnesses are associated with the Newsclick, and three with the case. Police have also recorded the statement of Amit Chakraborty, who turned approver… He has been granted pardon by the Hon’ble Court… He is now a witness in the case and, therefore, he is not being chargesheeted,” it states.
Police have alleged that “during the CAA/NRC protests, Purkayastha… was not only involved in malicious disinformation campaign using NewsClick, but had actually been utilising his employees/partners for the purpose of disbursing cash to the rioters, some of whom have already been arrested in a separate UAPA case”.
Material confiscated from NewsClick is taken away on Tuesday. (PTI)
The chargesheet claims one of the protected witnesses, named ‘Gama’ to keep the identity a secret, told the police that “during the CAA protest, Purkayastha used to send the employees to take part and incite the Muslim community to do violent acts and rioting. He also used to give cash to employees to distribute among rioters”.
When contacted for a response, the media outlet said, “NewsClick completely dismisses this absurd allegation. NewsClick employees reported on the anti-CAA and NRC protests and the riots that took place in Delhi just as reporters of other media houses did. Their work is in the public domain. Purkayastha or NewsClick did not send any employee to take part in any act that ‘incited’ violence or rioting.”
The chargesheet also quotes Gama as saying, “Prabir, Chakraborty and other members had extreme Marxist and Maoist ideologies… I came to know that these people were being funded by the Chinese Communist Party.”
Another protected witness, Gama 2, is quoted as saying that during CAA, NRC protests, Purkayastha asked a person “to go to Shaheen Bagh and give money to Sharjeel Imam and his associates so that they could continue their protest over there”. “From this money, they should purchase weapons and other equipment to incite violence and rioting,” the witness quoted him as saying. Similar allegations are made regarding protests at Chand Bagh and the farmers’ stir.
On this, NewsClick said, “Once again, this is a completely unfounded allegation based on no evidence. Our reporters were present at protest sites to cover the protests as journalists and their work is in the public domain. Prabir Purkayastha or NewsClick did not send any employee with money to Sharjeel Imam or anyone else to continue their protests. The allegation is based on an alleged statement by a protected witness, which has to be proved in court. There is no corroborative material to support these statements, which will be contested by NewsClick in the courts in due course.”
The witness further claims that during Covid, Purkayastha commissioned “articles and videos which showed the vaccine developed by India in a poor light and Chinese vaccines to be better”.
The chargesheet further quotes Gama 2 as claiming, “I heard Prabir saying that omitting Kashmir from the map of India could help incite Kashmiri youths and I also heard him say that to do this, he was in touch with several terror outfits… I once saw two-three Kashmiris had come to the office and Amit gave them a bag full of money on the directions of Prabir… The money was meant for the terrorists of Lashkar outfits so that they could incite violence and let other terror activities go on.”
The media outlet said in response, “This is a completely baseless and farcical allegation. NewsClick has no links with Lashkar or any such group. The allegation that money was supposedly handed over to terrorists in the NewsClick office should be dismissed with the contempt it deserves. The allegation is based on an alleged statement by a protected witness, which has to be proved in court.”
The witness further claims that money changed hands “to incite Naxal violence in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana”.
Another witness, Gama 3, is quoted as saying that “funds (received by NewsClick) were used in funding CAA/NRC protest, farmers’ agitation, supporting Kashmiri separatists against abrogation of Article 370 and Maoists groups”.
The chargesheet claims that “under the garb of a scientific project, US-based businessman Neville Roy Singham and Prabir attempted expanding the map of Pakistan to show certain Indian territories of Jammu & Kashmir as being internationally recognised Pakistani land parcels. Similarly, the Chinese map was altered so as to include Aksai Chin… as a ‘disputed territory’”.
The chargesheet states that the accused “studiously employed different concepts for mass mobilisation, the underlying objectives always being a weakening and disruption of every aspect of State apparatus as ordained by the Constitution of India, leading to its destabilisation, decimation and disintegration”.
The company said in its response, “All of NewsClick’s funds were received through the proper channel and used for journalistic activities. These funds have not been used to support any protests or separatist or Maoist activities. Prabir’s long term association with the CPI(Marxist) — he has been a member for over 50 years — means he would never support, financially or otherwise, either ‘Maoists’ or any other group or individual with violent or any illegal plans. His political involvement and views are very much in the public realm. All these allegations are completely bogus and concocted. We shall counter all of them in the appropriate judicial forums. We have full faith in the judicial process. NewsClick and Prabir will be vindicated.”
