A special judge sent both of them to judicial custody when they were produced before the court after their custodial interrogation by the Delhi Police.
Protests were held across the country against the arrest. (Instagram)
A Delhi court on Thursday, 2 November, sent NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and its HR department head Amit Chakravarty to judicial custody till 1 December in a case lodged under anti-terror law UAPA over allegations that the news portal received money to spread pro-China propaganda.
Special Judge Hardeep Kaur sent both the accused to jail after they were produced before the court on expiry of their custodial interrogation by Delhi Police.
The court had granted the city police their remand for a second time on 25 October setting aside their counsel Arshdeep Singh Khurana’s contention that no new ground for it was mentioned in the application.
The Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested Purkayastha and Chakravarty on 3 October. They were sent to judicial custody earlier on 10 October.
The police, however, sought their fresh custodial interrogation on 25 October.
According to the FIR, a large amount of funds received by 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 3 October 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 in Delhi and NCR.
(Disclaimer: The headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed, and has been edited for style.)
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