Delhi Police's Special Cell has formed a list of at least 25 questions for the detained journalists in the China funding case, said sources on Tuesday. However, there was no official confirmation regarding the detention of journalists whose houses were raided by the police teams in the early hours of Tuesday.
As per sources, the questions pertain to anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh, farmers protest, North East Delhi riots and even details of their foreign travels.
Over 30 locations were raided by the Special Cell in connection with allegations that the media outlet NewsClick received funding from China. However, no arrests have been made so far.
During the raid, the Special Cell had also seized electronic evidence, laptops, mobile phones, pen drives and also took data dumps of hard disks from the NewsClick office and also those belonging to the journalists associated with the organisation, including Bhasha Singh, Abhisar Sharma, Sanjay Rajoura and among others.
NewsClick writers Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Urmilesh's house were also searched. They were seen being taken by police in the cars.
"Delhi police landed at my home. Taking away my laptop and Phone," Sharma on Tuesday wrote on X.
"Finally last tweet from this phone. Delhi police seized my phone," another journalist of the web portal, Bhasha Singh tweeted.
On August 5, The New York Times published an article titled 'A US Tech Mogul Linked to a Global Web of Chinese Propaganda', alleging that NewsClick, a news portal, was part of a global network receiving funding from American millionaire Neville Roy Singham, who was purportedly closely associated with Chinese government media.
Citing the NYT report, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur asserted that Congress, China, and NewsClick had an 'anti-India umbilical cord' and were pushing the agenda of the Communist Party of China through the website.
"The investigative agencies probe if anyone does anything wrong. It is not written anywhere that the agencies can't initiate any probe even if you have received money through illegal means which is objectionable. Investigative agencies are free and they take action as per the rules," said Thakur answering a query on the raids on NewsClick and its journalists by the Special Cell of Delhi Police.
Subsequent to the NYT report, NewsClick issued a statement two days later, denying the allegations as baseless and lacking factual or legal support.
Sources indicate that the searches at various locations connected to NewsClick were conducted based on a case registered on August 17 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 153A (promoting enmity between groups) and Section 120B (criminal conspiracy).
A source told IANS that section 16 (Terrorist Act), section 17 (raising funds for terrorist acts), section 18 (Conspiracy) and section 22 C (Offences by Companies) of the UAPA have been invoked in the FIR.
Oppn cries foul
Opposition leaders on Tuesday slammed the Centre over the early morning raids on the premises of several journalists here and called it an attempt to silence them before the 2024 general elections.
Veteran leader and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal in a post on X, formerly Twitter said, "Early morning raids on journalists, satirists and activists in UAPA case. Objective perhaps : Silence them before 2024! Precursor for times to come!"
Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Gurdeep Singh Sappal in a post on X, said, "Crackdown on Journalists by Delhi Police: Yesterday was Gandhi Jayanti. In 1931, Mahatma Gandhi guided Jawaharlal Nehru in drafting the Karachi Resolution on Fundamental Rights in independent India. The first Fundamental Right promised to citizens of India was: Every citizen of India has the right of free expression of opinion, the rights of free association and combination, and the right to assemble peacefully and without arms, for purposes not opposed to law or morality."
He said that this resolution was placed just six days after the execution of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru.
"Executed for what? Because they wanted their voice to be heard, their opinion to be expressed. But their voices fell on deaf imperial government. So they threw a bomb in the Assembly, surrendered, didn't contest their punishment and used the trial to send their message to the People of India," Sappal said.
He also highlighted that Karachi resolution's first Fundamental Right promised to the people of India that their Supreme Sacrifice will not go waste. Independent India will have freedom of expression.
"RSS was also formed by then. But never during the independence struggle did they promise Freedom of Expression and Association. There is not a single statement by their leaders, not a single resolution, not a single write up in support of freedom of expression. RSS never stood for freedom of expression. Naturally, the BJP never really believed in freedom of speech. It only paid lip-service to it, though it enjoyed the freedom to serve its own political goals," he said.
"So the crackdown on media and journalists is not just a matter of instant causation. It is an expression of the political philosophy of BJP or RSS, it represents the India they want to create surreptitiously. So mere condemnation of crackdown on journalists is not enough. Stand up to save India that was promised by the Independence Movement, crafted by the Constitution of India... by voting BJP out," the Congress leader said.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha also slammed the government and said, "On the orders of the top, the police is showing its disgusting face in the houses of senior journalist cum thinker Urmilesh ji, Sohail Hashmi, Abhisar Sharma, Bhasha Singh, Sanjay Rajoura, Prabir Purkayastha, Anindyo Chakraborty and many colleagues. Many have been taken to Lodhi Road Police Station without any reason."
In another tweet, he said, "In these dark times, this is your SOP for those who refuse to join your group and ask you questions about freedom and justice for the underprivileged and the Bahujans. Now be prepared for retaliation...the struggle will again take place on the streets. If this is not the character of a fascist state, then what should we compare it to?"
Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi slammed the government and in a post on X, said, "Unfortunate to see how media questioning the government is being muzzled through excessive use of power. The early morning raids on journalists by Delhi Police should be condemned by all. We are now a democracy where only lapdog journalism is allowed and the rest silenced."
(With inputs from IANS)
