Delhi Police raids different premises linked to NewsClick

NEW DELHI: Raids at different premises allgedly linked to NewsClick are underway at over 30 locations, Delhi Police sources said on Tuesday.

"Raids underway at different premises linked to NewsClick, no arrests made so far," Police Sources added.

Further investigation is underway.

Earlier on August 22, the Delhi High Court issued notice to news portal NewsClick's Editor in Chief Prabir Purkayastha on a plea filed by Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EoW), seeking direction to vacate its interim order asking the probe agency not to take any coercive action against the news site.

The high court, on July 7, 2021, passed an order directing that Prabir Purkayastha shall not be arrested, adding, however, that he will have to cooperate with the investigation as and when required by the investigating officer.

The bench of Justice Saurabh Benrajee sought a response from Purkayastha in the matter.

According to the EOW FIR, a case was registered under IPC sections 406, 420 and 120-B and an investigation was launched.

During the probe, the sleuths gathered evidence indicating criminal acts.

The FIR states that the accused persons, in conspiracy with their accomplices based abroad, devised a deceitful scheme to obtain and receive funds for undertaking activities as per instructions received from their foreign-based benefactors, by disguising the funds received as Foreign Direct Investment.

After seeking protection from arrest the petitioner Prabir Purkayastha joined the investigation and he merely provided the balance sheets of PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd. for the financial year 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020 but failed to provide closures of the balance sheets to check their source of revenue, expenditures, end use of funds FDI, and fund/revenue from foreign entities stated EOW.

Earlier, the ED also moved the Delhi High Court against Newsclick and its editor-in-chief through a fresh application stating that it was a case of grave criminal conspiracy for paid news.

The agency, in February 2021, raided the premises of NewsClick and the residences of its editors in connection with a case of alleged money laundering and conducted search and seizure operations. Its case related to alleged foreign funding is based on an FIR registered by Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing.