New Delhi: The Delhi Police Special Cell on Tuesday morning conducted raids at the official residence of CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury as part of the ongoing action on entities linked to the news portal NewsClick, which was named by the New York Times as having allegedly received Chinese funding.
According to the reports coming in, the raid took place after one of the representatives of NewsClick was reported to be residing on the premises.
A case has been registered against NewsClick on charges including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) alleging terror links and the Delhi Police is raiding the houses of journalists, writers and employees associated with the news portal.
The mobile phones and the laptops of the journalists have also been seized by the police. The Delhi Police Special Cell is conducting extensive checks in 30 places including Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad.
The houses of video journalist Abhisar Sharma, veteran journalists Bhasha Singh and Urmilesh, Newsclick editor Prabir Purkayastha, writer Geeta Hariharan, journalist and political observer Aunindyo Chakraborty, activist and historian Sohail Hashmi and stand-up comedian Sanjay Rajoura were also reportedly being raided.
The police also raided the house of AKG Bhavan office employee Sreenarayan, whose son works with NewsClick.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had cited a report by the New York Times in the Lok Sabha alleging that the Congress leaders and NewsClick received funds from China to create an ‘anti-India’ atmosphere.
The Press Club of India has extended its support to the journalists and writers and said that it will release a detailed statement soon.