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NewsClick founder, others attempted to tinker with northern borders, backed farmers protests: Delhi Police FIR

The FIR also alleged that Purkayastha conspired with People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 General Elections.

The Special Cell of the Delhi Police has alleged that NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and the portal’s human resources (HR) head Amit Chakravarty illegally received crores of rupees in foreign funds and deployed the same with an intention to disrupt the sovereignty, unity and security of India.

The copy of the first information report (FIR) reveals the allegations against the two as well as other persons named in the FIR.

As per the FIR, secret inputs suggest that substantial foreign funds were illegally funneled into India by both Indian and foreign entities. These funds, amounting to crores of rupees, were received by Newsclick through illegal means over a span of five years.

Purkayastha and Chakravarty were arrested on October 3 following a series of raids conducted in the wake of allegations made in an New York Times article that NewsClick was being paid to boost Chinese propaganda.

A series of raids were conducted on the morning of October 3 by the Delhi Police on the team behind NewsClick as well as its contributors, including independent journalists.

Besides the UAPA case, a money laundering case filed earlier is also pending against NewsClick.

The FIR names the following persons as shareholders of NewsClick – Prabir Purkayastha, Amit Sengupta, Doraeeswami Raghunandan, Bappaditya Sinha, Gautam Navlakha, Geeta Hariharan and Amit Chakraborty.

Notably, the FIR mentions that Purkayastha, Neville Roy Singham, Geeta Hariharan and Gautam ‘Bhatia’ conspired to create a legal community network to campaign for and put up spirited defense in cases against these companies.

No other details of Gautam Bhatia are mentioned in the FIR.

Navlakha, a shareholder in NewsClick, is alleged to have been involved in anti-Indian activities, including supporting banned Naxal organizations and having connections with individuals associated with Pakistan’s ISI.

According to the FIR, the funds were fraudulently infused by Singham, allegedly an active member of the Communist Party of China’s Propaganda department, through a complex network of entities,

The FIR claims that the illegally routed foreign funds were siphoned off by Purkayastha and associates Joseph Raj, Anoop Chakraborty and Bappaditya Sinha, among others.

The Delhi Police also alleged that Chinese companies like Xiaomi and Vivo incorporated thousands of shell companies in India in violation of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

Some of the other allegations in the FIR are:

– Accused attempted to tinker with northern borders of India, show Arunachal and J&K as not parts of India;

– Accused attempted to disrupt supplies and services;

– Attempted to cause damage to property by protracting farmers’ protests. Obtained illegal foreign funds to support farmers’ protests, create internal law and order problems.

Source: https://www.barandbench.com/news/newsclick-arrests-what-the-fir-says

TREVOR KAVANAGH Rupert Murdoch has two key characteristics which make him most phenomenal news man of modern age

RUPERT Murdoch has two key characteristics which make him far and away the most phenomenal newspaper man of the modern age.

The first is his upbringing in classless Australia where, more even than America, anyone from any background can aspire to the highest pinnacles of success.

Rupert Murdoch checks a copy of The Sun hot from the pressCredit: Alamy

The second is his rare talent to spot an opportunity and the courage to stake everything on its success.

It is the gambler in Rupert Murdoch, coupled with a fabled talent to “see around corners”, which propelled him from running a small-town newspaper to transforming the way the world reads, hears and sees the news.

It is what drove the success of this newspaper, the Super Soaraway Sun, as the biggest-selling English language newspaper.

And it is the fuel that provided lift-off — against the odds — for Sky TV to revolutionise news and sports coverage and turn Premier League football into a multi-billion pound financial giant.

As The Sun’s political editor and columnist for 40 years, I’ve enjoyed knowing the man we call The Boss both at leisure and under pressure as chief of the world’s greatest media empire. I watched him turn the Super Soaraway Sun into essential breakfast reading for millions of dedicated readers.

I have seen him prove time and again that democracy and free speech only flourish under a free, vigorous and sometimes controversial press.

His newspapers, including The Times and Sunday Times and more recently America’s Wall Street Journal, have challenged establishment figures who once expected an easy ride.

As he took up his new role last night, The Boss repeated the principles that have driven his family since his father, Gallipoli legend Sir Keith Murdoch, became one of Australia’s greatest newspapermen.

Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/24077128/rupert-murdoch-most-phenomenal-news-man-of-modern-age/

Who is Zakhar Prilepin, target of car bomb in Russia?

Novelist and politician has been sanctioned by European nations for his ardent support of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Zakhar Prilepin poses for a picture in his flat in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, December 6, 2008 [File: Mikhail Beznosov/ Reuters]

Zakhar Prilepin, who was wounded in a car blast in Russia that killed his driver, is the third prominent prowar figure to be targeted by a bomb since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The 47-year-old novelist was hospitalised with wounds to both of his legs on Saturday, but was conscious and doing “alright”, the TASS state news agency reported, citing officials.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine and Western states backing it, particularly the United States, of the attack on the writer. A senior official in Kyiv, however, has accused Moscow of staging the incident.

Prilepin, the author of several novels inspired by his experiences of war and of living in Russia’s provinces, was once praised by literary critics in the West before he put his pen and his gun to the service of the Kremlin in Ukraine.

Born in 1975 in the Ryazan region, Prilepin was sent to fight in Russia’s wars against Chechen separatists in the 1990s.

After his return to civilian life, he recounted the horrors of the war in his debut novel “Pathologies”, which describes the actions of a special forces unit, including hard drinking and killings.

He went on to write five more novels and has also authored numerous poems, essays and articles. His works have been translated in Western Europe, and he is the recipient of various state awards.

A damaged white Audi Q car lies overturned on a track next to the woods after Russian nationalist writer Zakhar Prilepin was wounded in a bomb attack in a village in the Nizhny Novgorod region, Russia, May 6, 2023 [Anastasia Makarycheva/ Reuters]

As Prilepin tried to build a name for himself in the literary world in Europe in the 2000s, he became an opposition activist, criticising Russian President Vladimir Putin and campaigning for Russia’s poor against corrupt oligarchs.

Everything changed with Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

Prilepin has since embraced Putin’s policies and went on to fight alongside pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, revealing in 2017 that he had created his own battalion.

“I think a writer has a right to any position,” Prilepin said at a Moscow news conference following the revelation.

“He can stand with a flag saying peace to the world or he can take up arms.”

In a 2019 YouTube interview, he boasted that his unit had “killed people in big numbers”.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year, Prilepin, who has approximately 300,000 subscribers each to his Telegram and YouTube channels, went on to become an ardent proponent of the military campaign.

“I have no guilt about what is happening. It has happened, now we have to see it through,” he said in November.

Prilepin has also been politically active as the cochair of the “A Just Russia — For Truth” party.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/7/who-is-zakhar-prilepin-target-of-car-bomb-in-russia

BEEB’S BAD NEWS Top BBC stars sent redundancy letters as broadcaster tries to cut millions from its budget

THE BBC has issued redundancy letters to some of its most famous presenters – including veteran newsreader Huw Edwards.

Cash-strapped executives have asked some of the broadcaster’s best known if they’re interested in voluntary redundancy as part of a cost-cutting scheme.

Veteran newsreader Huw Edwards is among the presenters to have been issued redundancy lettersCredit: PA

The letters – circulated through a mass email to top-earning talent on TV and radio – was sent to top BBC News host Huw Edwards, who is paid more than £450,000 a year.

TV stalwart Edwards, 61, won praise for his composure after announcing the death of Queen Elizabeth to the world last year, and recently signed a new three-year deal with the broadcaster.

An email sent by BBC News editor Philippa Busby reportedly quizzed senior on-screen staff if they “would like to consider potentially leaving the BBC under voluntary redundancy”.

Other high-profile figures targeted for redundancy by the ailing broadcaster include Mastermind host Clive Myrie, newsreader Sophie Raworth and Today programme host Nick Robinson – all paid more than £250,000 a year.

Any redundancy payment would be capped at £150,000 – making it unlikely leading figures will choose to leave.

Insiders told the Mail on Sunday the move had sent already low staff morale plummeting, branding the letters “depressing”.

The redundancy letters are thought to be linked to cost-cutting measures announced by Director-General Tim Davie last year.

The BBC said: “We’re looking for expressions of interest in redundancy, not offering it, and it’s not the case that any or everyone who came forward would be accepted.”

Another high-profile presenter targeted by the BBC is Mastermind host Clive MyrieCredit: Hat Trick

Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/22055806/top-bbc-stars-redundancy-letters-budget-huw-edwards/?utm_campaign=native_share&utm_source=sharebar_native&utm_medium=sharebar_native