About two months after the Delhi Police Special Cell summoned five persons to join the investigation in the UAPA case against NewsClick chief Prabir Purkayastha, US-based Neville Roy Singham’s business partner Jason Pfetcher has replied, Indian Express reported. He reportedly said that People’s Support Foundation never received funds from any foreign government. 

In April, the Delhi police had summoned Singham, Pfetcher, think tank Tricontinental’s executive director Vijay Prashad and two NewsClick journalists, Anand Mangnale and Pawan Kulkarni. Pfetcher and Prashad recently replied to the police, while Mangnale and Kulkarni had informed about the delay in joining the probe earlier. Singham is yet to reply. 

The Indian Express report quoted sources as saying that “Prashad informed he is currently abroad and will join after he returns to India. Manglane had already informed them he is out of the country for work and will inform them when he will be back. Kulkarni’s health is not well”.

Meanwhile, Pfetcher reportedly replied that a private foundation, People’s Support Foundation, was set up by them and all funds donated to PSF came from the sale of ThoughtWorks, and it never received funds from any foreign government. 

On May 15, the Supreme Court granted bail to Purkayastha, saying that his arrest was invalid. He and NewsClick HR head Amit Chakraborty were arrested in October last year over accusations of funding terrorism, inciting protests, and having Maoist links. It had also accused NewsClick of being one of the propaganda outlets funded by American tech mogul Singham. 

Singham was also booked for alleged foreign funding violations and accused of anti-India activities such as allegedly exploring the possibility of creating an India map without Kashmir and projecting Arunachal Pradesh as a disputed area. He had earlier denied the accusations. 

The New York Times had first alleged that the news site was among Chinese propaganda outlets funded by American tech mogul Neville Roy Singham.  Later, in a four-page rebuttal, Singham had called the NYT article “misleading” and an “innuendo-laden hit piece”. 

Newslaundry has extensively reported on the NewsClick case and its fallout. Read here. 

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