Left parties hold protest against NewsClick raids, arrests

New Delhi, Oct 10 (PTI) CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat on Tuesday said the arrest of NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and its HR head Amit Chakravarty under the UAPA was an “illegal act”, as Left parties held a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding their release.

At a protest called by the Delhi unit of CPI(M), Karat alleged that the news portal was being attacked because they reported on the farmers’ protest that took place in Delhi in 2020-21.

“This news portal supported the farmers’ protest and made it reach lakhs of people. The probe started after that. Probe by ED, CBI, IT has been on for the last three years, nothing could be found,” she said.

“If you look at the FIR, there are no new charges against them. They imposed Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act just four days before the court hearing was scheduled… Is this not a conspiracy?” she said.

Karat said Purkayastha was also arrested from the JNU when the Emergency was imposed in 1975.

On the upcoming assembly polls, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader said the Left parties will work towards defeating the “BJP-RSS” combine.

“We will work towards removing the BJP-RSS joint venture government. We are also working on building unity and strengthening the Left parties in the upcoming polls,” she said.

Leaders of Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist), Revolutionary Socialist Party, Forward Bloc, and Communist Ghadar Party of India also joined the protest.

The protesters also demanded that the electronic equipment seized from those questioned by police should be returned.

A raid was conducted on October 3 at 88 locations in Delhi and seven in other states, and 46 journalists and contributors to NewsClick were questioned. The Delhi Police arrested portal’s editor-in-chief Purkayastha and its human resources department head Chakravarty and seized more than 300 electronic gadgets from the office of NewsClick and residences of its journalists.

The Delhi Police had registered an FIR under section sections 13, 16,17, 18 and 22C of the UAPA, and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. The Delhi Police has alleged that a large sum of funds came from China to disrupt India’s sovereignty.

On Monday, Delhi Police Special Cell questioned about 25 journalists and contributors of the NewsClick for a second time.