Mumbai Press organisations call for candlelight vigil over NewsClick case

Protests were held in Delhi today/PTI

Various media organisations in Mumbai have come together to hold a candlelight vigil in solidarity with the NewsClick journalists facing wrongful arrest and detention in Delhi. The vigil is scheduled to take place on Thursday, October 5, at 7 pm within the premises of the Press Club.

The event is backed by the Mumbai Press Club, Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh, TV Journalists Association, Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists, Bombay News Photographers Association, and Mantralaya Vidhimandal Vartahar Sangh.

IN PHOTOS: Journalists stage protest over police action in NewsClick case

11 months agoPHOTO GALLERY

The events unfolding in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) following raids on NewsClick and the subsequent arrest of founder Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakravarty have raised deep concerns within the media community, as journalists' phones and laptops were seized as part of an investigation into alleged foreign funding.

The media organisations participating in the vigil expressed their collective concern and emphasised the need for an impartial investigation into the allegations. They also call upon the Delhi Police to cease actions perceived as a targeted campaign of harassment against these journalists.

"We express deep concern regarding the ongoing events in the Delhi-NCR region where raids were conducted and phones and laptops of journalists were confiscated in connection with the probe into the alleged foreign funding," the organisations said in a statement.

They added, "We urge an unbiased investigation of the allegation and call upon the Delhi Police to desist from what is perceived as a targeted harassment campaign against these journalists."

They put forth the following demands before the Union Government:

• The detention and threat of arrest of journalists and news/features contributors of the portal NewsClick aimed at harassing and imprisoning journalists without reason will not be tolerated.
• Stop the indiscriminate use of draconian preventive detention laws like the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and charges of being ‘anti-national' and ‘terrorist' against professional journalists.
• An immediate stop to ‘investigative' techniques like confiscating the laptops, mobile phones and other communication gadgets journalists use for their professional practices.
  

NewsClick Raids

The Delhi Police on Tuesday conducted searches at over 50 locations across different states and questioned several journalists associated with NewsClick in connection with a case filed under the anti-terror law UAPA following allegations that the portal received money for pro-China propaganda. Police had arrested NewsClick founder Purkayastha and HR head Chakravarty on Tuesday evening. They had sealed NewsClick's office in Delhi and digital devices, including laptops and mobile phones, and documents were taken away for examination.

With PTI inputs