NEW DELHI: Police in India’s capital New Delhi, have raided the homes of renowned journalists and authors in connection with a probe into the funding of news website NewsClick.
NewsClick’s founder Prabir Purkayastha and a colleague were taken into custody. Police also seized mobile phones and laptops.
Officials are reportedly probing allegations that NewsClick got illegal funds from China – an accusation it denies, BBC reported.
Critics say the move is an intentional attack on media freedom.
Launched in 2009, NewsClick is an independent news and current affairs website known to be critical of Narendra Modi’s government. In 2021, it was raided by tax authorities on accusations of breaking India’s foreign direct investment rules.
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The coordinated raids at thirty locations on Tuesday are some of the largest and most extensive on Indian media in recent years. Police later confirmed they had apprehended Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarty, the website’s head of human resources.
Raid Widely Criticized as Attack on Press Freedom
Opposition leaders accused the Bharatiya Janata Party government of a fresh attack on the press. But Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said investigative agencies were merely doing their job.
In Mumbai, activist Teesta Setalvad’s house was also raided and searched. Setalvad has long fought for victims of the deadly 2002 riots in Gujarat state and has written op-eds critical of the government for NewsClick.
