NEW DELHI: A team of Delhi Police Special Cell probing the NewsClick case questioned activist and journalist Gautam Navlakha in Mumbai on Saturday as he was a shareholder of the company since 2008.
According to sources, Navlakha’s questioning took place at his residence in Navi Mumbai’s Agroli area, which was led by an ACP-level officer. Navlakha was asked about his links with news portal's founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha and about his share in the company, an official said.
Navlakha, who was previously under house arrest in the Elgar Parishad case, was granted bail on December 19.
Prabir Purkayastha and NewsClick's HR head Amit Chakraborty were arrested in October for allegedly being involved in unlawful activities and illegally infusing funds in India through Chinese companies.
In August, the special cell registered an FIR under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against news portal NewsClick, alleging that a large amount of funds came from China to "disrupt the sovereignty of India" and cause "disaffection against the country".
According to the FIR filed on August 17, funds were routed from China in a “camouflaged manner”, and paid news was peddled “criticising domestic policies, development projects of India and promoting programmes of the Chinese government.
The FIR in the NewsClick case also mentioned the name of Navlakha, who was associated with Purkayastha since 1991 when they incorporated a company through which Purkayastha illegally siphoned off foreign funds.
The FIR claimed that the Chinese foreign funds were allegedly distributed to activist Gautam Navlakha and associates of activists Teesta Seetalvad, her husband and Javed Anand, and journalists Urmilesh, Aratrika Halder, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Abhisar Sharma, and others.
Navlakha has been associated with Purkhayastha since 1991 and is also a shareholder of PPK NewsClick Studio Private Limited since 2018, according to the FIR.
It also alleged Purkayastha conspired with a group -- People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) -- to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
(With additional inputs from PTI)