NewsClick Row: Court Allows Delhi Police To Question Gautam Navlakha

The Patiala House Court of Delhi allowed a special cell of Delhi Police to interrogate Gautam Navlakha in connection with the stringent anti-terror law UAPA case against news portal NewsClick following allegations that it received huge sums of money for pro-China propaganda.

The Delhi Police got permission to interrogate Mr Navlakha at his home in Navi Mumbai, where he has been under house arrest in the Bhima Koregaon case following a Supreme Court order.

Recently Newsclick's founder and editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakravarty were arrested by the Delhi Police in a case filed under UAPA.

The Delhi Police's Special Cell in its FIR against Prabir Purkayastha stated that People's Dispatch Portal, owned and maintained by M/S PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd. has been used to intentionally peddle false narratives through paid news in lieu of crores of rupees of illegally routed foreign funds as part of conspiracy.

According to the police, illegally routed foreign funds were siphoned off by Mr Purkayastha and his associates - Joseph Raj, Anoop Chakraborty (brother of Amit Chakraborty), Bappaditya Sinha (promoter of Virtunet Systems Pvt Ltd.). It is also learnt that funds were distributed to Gautam Navlakhaa and others, said the police.

The FIR further stated that foreign funds in crores have been infused illegally in India by Indian and Foreign entities inimical to India in pursuance of conspiracy with the intention to disrupt sovereignty and terrirorial integrity of India, to cause disaffection against India and to threaten the unity, integrity, security of India.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)