‘Salaries held up, staff shocked ahead of festive season’: NewsClick says accounts frozen

NewsClick has termed the freezing of its bank accounts as an “administrative-legal siege” and said this has “left all our employees shocked” at the year-end festive season.

Issuing a statement on Tuesday, the news outfit said it has been unable to make any bank payments since the evening of December 18. It said that it “appears to be a continuation of the administrative-legal siege of the news portal which began with the Enforcement Directorate raids in February 2021, followed by an IT department survey in September 2021, and the October 3, 2023 crackdown by the Delhi Police Special Cell”. 

NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and administrative officer Amit Chakraborty continue to be in jail in connection with a UAPA case lodged against the outlet over alleged anti-India propaganda and allegations of money laundering.

NewsClick has repeatedly denied the charges against it. Its statement on Tuesday said that “NewsClick has always complied with the laws of the land, including all tax regulations. The claims levelled by the Income Tax Department are without any basis.”

The outlet claimed that it had not received any prior information about the freezing of accounts, and “the staff discovered it by chance while trying to make routine payments last evening. As a result of this high-handed action, salaries of all employees – journalists, videographers, and administrative and support staff – and consultants and contributors cannot be paid, including for the 19 days of December they have already worked.”

NewsClick said that the “sudden action” had left all employees shocked at the year-end festive season. “Since there is no indication of when our accounts will become accessible, there is uncertainty in the minds of all employees and their families, especially those who are completely dependent on salaries from NewsClick.”

It said that the outlet and its legal counsel are reviewing the developments. “Subsequently, legal appeals against this unjust and cruel measure will be initiated at the earliest.”

“NewsClick and its courageous journalists remain committed to continuing their work for as long as possible. As always, we appeal for continued solidarity, which has been a source of support and encouragement to us.”

The portal’s founder Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakraborty were arrested under the UAPA on October 3, after The New York Times alleged that NewsClick was among Chinese propaganda outlets funded by US businessman Neville Roy Singham. Later, in a four-page rebuttal, Singham had called the NYT article “misleading” and an “innuendo-laden hit piece”.

The Delhi police had questioned about 50 journalists linked to NewsClick and seized their electronic devices in the run up to the arrests. 

The allegations against the news portal revolve around China-linked foreign funding violations. The FIR in the case, which also named incarcerated activist Gautam Navlakha, stated that Purkayastha, Chakravarty and Singham had allegedly discussed “how to create a map of India without Kashmir and to show Arunachal Pradesh as disputed area”. 

In November, the Enforcement Directorate summoned Singham in the case, and the Delhi police had sought “financial” details of five companies linked to him in a letter to the US authorities.  

NewsClick denied all the allegations, terming the police action as an attempt to “stifle fearless voices”. 

Newslaundry had earlier reported that with the NewsClick office sealed, and the journalists’ devices seized, the news portal was struggling to publish with borrowed devices. Read about it here.