Reporters Without Orders Ep 291: NewsClick case, raids on journalists

This week, host Sumedha Mittal is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Pratyush Deep.

Both Basant and Pratyush talk about their reports on the recent arrest of NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakravarty in connection with a UAPA case lodged in August this year. 

They delve into all that led to the arrests, including the early morning police searches at the homes of journalists, satirists, writers and contributors connected to NewsClick. The Delhi police special cell seized electronic devices and questioned so-called ‘suspects’ for hours. 

The panel also talks about the precursor to the police action – a New York Times investigation that alleged the news site was among Chinese propaganda outlets funded by American tech mogul Neville Roy Singham.

Away from NewsClick, Basant explains his report on a father-son duo who fled illegally to Pakistan from India, citing growing communal attacks on Muslims. They’d rather accept death in Pakistan, he said, but don’t want to go back home.

Tune in.

Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:01:42 - Newsclick

00:02:11 - Arrests

00:41:14 - Family flees to Pakistan

00:44:07 - Recommendations

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Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, edited by Umrav Singh Gurjar and recorded by Anil Kumar.