NewsClick: Delhi police raid homes of prominent journalists

Police in India have raided the homes of several prominent journalists and authors in connection with an investigation into the funding of news website NewsClick.

The searches took place on Tuesday in the capital Delhi, and those raided had their mobiles and laptops seized.

Officials are reportedly investigating allegations that NewsClick got illegal funds from China - a charge it denies.

Critics say the move is an intentional attack on press freedom.

Among those who have reportedly been raided are NewsClick editor Prabir Purkayastha, journalists Abhisar Sharma, Aunindyo Chakravarty and Bhasha Singh, popular satirist Sanjay Rajaura and historian Sohail Hashmi. Some of them have been taken to police station for questioning.

The police have not yet commented on the raids but Mr Sharma confirmed the development on X (formerly Twitter) and said that the police had taken away his phone and laptop.

Ms Singh also wrote that police had seized her phone.

Searches were also under way at the website's office in Delhi, news agency ANI reported.

According to reports, the raids are taking place in connection with a case registered against NewsClick in August after a New York Times report alleged that the website had received funds from an American millionaire to spread "Chinese propaganda".

The report claimed that Neville Roy Singham worked closely with the "Chinese government media machine" and used his network of non-profit groups and shell companies to "finance its propaganda worldwide".

A case was registered on 17 August and the police invoked UAPA - a draconian anti-terrorism law which makes it nearly impossible to get bail - against the website and its journalists. NewsClick has strongly denied all the charges as false.

Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, a number of media outlets have been investigated by the government for financial impropriety, raising fears about press freedom in the world's largest democracy.

Reporters Without Borders, an advocacy group for journalists, has placed India at 161st place in its press freedom rankings this year. It said the situation in the country has deteriorated from "problematic" to "very bad" and compared it with Tajikistan (at 153rd) and Turkey (at 165th).

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