(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, May 1 (IANS) The Delhi Police in a charge sheet filed in a court here has accused the PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd, owned by Prabir Purkayastha, of being a clandestine vehicle designed to funnel funds into it for a nefarious agenda.
The charge sheet PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd has claimed that the company was specifically incorporated to infuse funds in PPK NewsClick owned by Prabir Purkayastha for stoking and sustaining Delhi riots, disinformation campaign on Covid-19, stoking farmer's protests and outright funding of banned LWE and Pakistan-sponsored terrorist organisations.
The court on Tuesday took cognisance of Delhi Police's charge sheet filed against Purkayastha over allegations that the news portal took money to spread pro-China propaganda.
The Special Cell of Delhi Police on March 30 filed the charge sheet running into over 9,000 pages against the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur of Patiala House Courts said there was sufficient evidence against the accused person in the case, and directed the prosecution to supply a copy of the charge sheet to Purkayastha.
The charge sheet also indicates a trail of conspiracy dating back to 2016, where funds were allegedly funnelled from PPK Newsclick to PP NewsClick India LLP, ostensibly for investment purposes. Approximately, Rs 91 crores were transferred for "nefarious activities, including terrorist acts", the charge sheet stated.
“There is evidence in the form of emails that conspiracy started in the year 2016 and pursuant to the objective of conspiracy PPK NewsClick into the company PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd funds were raised with the objective of committing terrorist acts and unlawful activities in India," it read.
"PP NewsClick India LLP was converted into a private limited company so that funds should be given in the guise of investment and service agreement. Amount received around Rs 91 crores. This fund was later on used in the terrorist acts," it said.
Investigators in the charge sheet claimed that there was an "active link with the Communist Party of India (Maoist)", which has been declared a Terrorist Organisation under the First Schedule of UA(P) Act, 1967.
According to the charge sheet, the investigation has revealed that Gautam Navlakha and Purkayastha supported Maoists and funded their activities. "Funds were given to Lashkar-E-Taiba, a banned terror organisation under the First Schedule of UA(P) Act, 1967 active in J&K and responsible for many terror incidents," it stated.
Furthermore, the charge sheet implicates Purkayastha and his office in orchestrating mass mobilisation against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
"Prabir Purkayastha and his office PPK NewsClick Pvt Ltd indulged into mass mobilisation against CAA/NRC and to spread misinformation about CAA/NRC and to publish articles and videos causing hatred among caste groups, ill will and disaffection against the country which was prejudicial to maintenance of harmony," it read.
The charge sheet further claimed that Prabir Purkayastha was not only involved in a "malicious disinformation campaign" against the CAA and the NRC using his PPK NewsClick, but had actually been utilising his employees and partners for the purpose of "disbursing cash to rioters, some of whom have already been arrested in a separate UAPA case and are presently running in judicial custody".
The charge sheet also claimed that the accused tinkered with the map of Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh and the Chinese map was altered so as to include Aksai Chin as a part of China.
“Prabir Purkayastha in furtherance of common conspiracy with Neville Roy Singham and others during the Covid-19 time had criticized noble efforts of the Indian government to control Covid-19 and also published his articles against the vaccine manufactured by the Indian pharmaceutical companies with the intention of causing disaffection against India," it added.
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