COVID-19, Xiaomi and Vivo, farmers’ protest: What Delhi Police FIR reveals about NewsClick's China links

The Delhi Police Special Cell in its First Information Report (FIR) against NewsClick alleged the existence of a “larger criminal conspiracy” involving Chinese telecom companies, Xiaomi and Vivo, and pointed out the news website’s “spirited defence of legal cases” against these firms. From “attempts to tinker” with the northern borders to discrediting the Indian government’s fight against COVID-19, the FIR registered on 17 August against NewsClick founder-editor Prabir Purkayastha underlines several allegations. As per The Telegraph report, besides 73-year-old Purkayastha, the Delhi Police have named activist Gautam Navlakha and American tech mogul Neville Roy Singham as the “accused” under Sections 13 (unlawful activities), 16 (terrorist act), 17 (raising funds for terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy) and 22C (offences by companies) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA. Sections 153A (promoting enmity between groups) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) have also been invoked in the case. Let’s take a detailed look at what the Delhi Police has alleged in its FIR. ‘Disaffection against India’ Citing “secret inputs”, the Delhi Police claimed 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 territorial integrity of India, to cause disaffection against India and to threaten the unity, integrity, and security of India”. The FIR added that PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd – the firm that owns NewsClick.in – received “crores of rupees” through “illegal means” from Worldwide Media Holdings LLC, US, and others for five years from April 2018, reported The Telegraph. “Such foreign funds have been fraudulently infused by Neville Roy Singham, resident of Shanghai and active member of the Propaganda department of Communist Party of China (CCP), through a complex web of several entities,” the police alleged. The CCP is China’s ruling party. It further claimed that a “large amount” of Chinese funds were used to publish “paid news” criticising the Indian government’s policies and promoting China’s policies. [caption id=“attachment_13215252” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Security officers were seen outside the office of NewsClick in New Delhi on 3 October. AP File Photo[/caption] Purkayastha has also been accused of being involved in a “conspiracy” with the People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) to “sabotage the electoral process during 2019 General Elections”. “In furtherance of this conspiracy… large amount of funds were routed from China in circuitous and camouflaged manner and paid news were intentionally peddled criticising domestic policies, development projects of India, and promoting, projecting and defending policies and programmes of Chinese government,” Indian Express quoted the police complaint as saying. This FIR led to raids on _NewsClick_ ’s New Delhi office and the houses of over 40 journalists, writers and contributors related to the news portal in the National Capital, NCR and Mumbai earlier in the week. After the searches, the Special Cell arrested Purkayastha and _NewsClick’_s HR head Amit Chakraborty. On Xiaomi, Vivo The police allege that Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi and Vivo set up shell companies, allegedly in violation of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), to promote “conspiracy” against India. “It is further learnt that big Chinese telecom companies like Xiaomi and Vivo etc. incorporated thousands of shell companies in India in violation of PMLA/ FEMA for illegally infusing foreign funds in India in furtherance of this conspiracy.” Xiaomi, which along with Vivo is currently being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering probe, has denied the allegations. “We have no knowledge about this. We strongly deny the said allegation against Xiaomi in the FIR,” the spokesperson for Xiaomi India told Reuters. “Xiaomi conducts its business operations with utmost respect to, and in strict compliance of applicable laws. Any allegation of conspiracy is completely baseless”. Xiaomi and Vivo are among the biggest players in India’s phone market. Moreover, the police have named lawyer Gautam Bhatia as a “key person” in the FIR, as per The Quint. “Further Purkayastha, Singham, Geeta Hariharan, Gautam Bhatia (key person) conspired to create a Legal Community Network in India to campaign for and put up a spirited defence of legal cases against aforementioned Chinese telecom companies in return for benefits by these Chinese companies,” the complaint alleged. COVID-19, farmers’ protest and more The Delhi Police claim the accused funded the yearlong farmers’ protest against Centre’s now-repealed three farm laws. “The accused have also conspired to disrupt supplies and services essential to the life of community in India and abet damage and destruction of property by protraction of farmers’ protest through such illegal foreign funding,” Indian Express quoted the FIR as saying. “It is also learnt that Purkayastha, Singham… and others actively propagated false narratives to discredit the efforts of the Indian government to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. They acted against national interest by promoting a misleading and false narrative about the domestic pharmaceutical industry and policies and development initiatives of the democratically elected Indian government in cohorts with the anti-national forces,” it further claims. The FIR cites “secret inputs” to allege that Purkayastha, Singham and employees of his Shanghai-based firm StarStream “have exchanged emails which expose their intent to show Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as not part of India…. Their attempts to tinker with the northern borders of India and to show Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as not parts of India in maps amount to an act intended towards undermining the unity and territorial integrity of India.” NewsClick denies charges NewsClick has rejected the allegations, labelling them “untenable and bogus”. “The allegations in the FIR, apart from being ex facie untenable and bogus, have been made time and again, in investigations by three government agencies — the Enforcement Directorate, the Economic Offences Wing, Delhi Police, and the income tax department,” the news portal said in a statement on Friday (6 October) night. “None of these investigations led to any chargesheets or complaints over the last three years. In fact, Prabir was granted interim protection in these investigations. The latest FIR has been registered only to circumvent this protection and carry out illegal arrests under the draconian UAPA."

#NewsClickRaids | The completely absurd nature of allegations in the FIR clearly show that the proceedings initiated against Newsclick are nothing but a blatant attempt to muzzle the free and independent press in India.

The Delhi High Court today, was pleased to issue notice in… pic.twitter.com/HHyr1CDpk8

— NewsClick (@newsclickin) October 6, 2023

The news outlet reiterated that it has not received “funding or instructions from China or Chinese entities”. “Further, Newsclick has never committed or sought to encourage violence, secession or any illegal act in any manner whatsoever….” It termed the action against NewsClick a “blatant attempt to muzzle the free and independent press in India.” With inputs from agencies