Media: Coverage

Indian police expanded on Thursday an investigation into suspected illegal foreign funding of a news portal, accusing it in court of having sought to create an incorrect map of the country and also sabotage general elections in 2019.

“Today, a large section of journalists in India finds themselves working under the threat of reprisal. It is imperative that the judiciary confronts power with a fundamental truth."

They demand that the UAPA charges invoked in the case be revoked and the journalists be released.

And yet, none of the drastic actions taken by the police made much sense.

A number of journalists, holding banners, gathered at the Press Club of India while student organisations got together at Jantar Mantar.

The propaganda cry of catching terrorists and Chinese agents is for the gullible. The real game is to bring opponents of any stripe, persuasion, or profession, to heel.

“Nature of employment” at the NewsClick news portal, coverage of the 2020 Delhi Riots and calls made to the US — these were some of the questions allegedly put to journalists questioned Tuesday in a fresh case against the news portal, registered under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, for alleged receipt of funds from China.

An Indian news portal being investigated over alleged illegal funding said on Wednesday it does not publish propaganda and its funding had been received through appropriate banking channels.

Police carried out early morning raids yesterday on the NewsClick office and the homes of almost 50 journalists, activists, and comedians across India under anti-terrorism laws, deepening concerns over a crackdown on freedom of expression in the country. The journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, the activist Teesta Setalvad, and the comedian Sanjay Rajoura were also among those raided and taken in for police questioning. After the questioning Paranjoy Guha Thakurta told journalists that a FIR has been lodged ‘apparently’ under the Unlawful Activities Preventions Act.

NewsClick journalists who were raided by Delhi Police on Tuesday in connection with a probe into the news portal's alleged foreign funding, were questioned on whether they had reported on matters like the 2020 Delhi riots, the farmers’ protest against the Narendra Modi government’s farm laws and the COVID-19 crisis.