The Delhi Police Special Cell sealed the NewsClick office on Tuesday, October 3, over a case filed under the anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in August this year. Journalists Urmilesh, Aunindyo Chakravarty, Abhisar Sharma, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, along with historian Sohail Hashmi, underwent questioning but were subsequently released in the evening after extensive inquiries for hours. Meanwhile, Prabir Purkayastha, the founder and editor-in-chief of NewsClick, was brought to the portal's south Delhi office in the presence of a forensic team.
During the questioning at Special Cell police station in Lodhi Colony, the police presented them with a list of 25 inquiries encompassing various topics, such as their international trips, involvement in protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, and participation in the farmers' agitation, as per sources.
Notably, no arrests have been made during the ongoing searches primarily focused on the Delhi-NCR region.
Sources indicate that the searches at various locations linked to NewsClick were conducted based on a case registered under UAPA and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 153A (promoting enmity between groups) and Section 120B (criminal conspiracy).
A source told IANS that section 16 (Terrorist Act), section 17 (raising funds for terrorist acts), section 18 (Conspiracy) and section 22 C (Offences by Companies) of the UAPA have been invoked in the First Information Report (FIR).