NewsClick founder conspired to peddle narrative that Kashmir, Arunachal disputed territories: Police
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has accused NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha, arrested in a case filed under anti-terror law UAPA following charges that the portal received money to spread pro-China propaganda, of conspiring to peddle a narrative that Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh are disputed territories.
Purkayastha and the human resources department head at NewsClick, Amit Chakravarty, were arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on Tuesday.
In their remand application, police said: "Secret inputs revealed that Purkayastha, Neville Roy Singham and some other Chinese employees of Singham-owned Shanghai-based company have exchanged mails which expose their intent to show Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as not part of India."
"Such attempts by these persons reveal their conspiracy to peddle a narrative, both globally and domestically, that Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh are disputed territories. Their attempts to tinker with the northern borders of India and to show Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as not parts of India in maps amount to an act intended towards undermining the unity and territorial integrity of India," the application said.
It was also learnt that Gautam Navlakha, a shareholder in NewsClick, was involved in anti-India and unlawful activities, such as actively supporting banned Naxal organisations and having an anti-national nexus with Gulam Nabi Fai, an agent of Pakistani spy agency ISI, it stated.
It has also been learnt that foreign funds were siphoned off by Purkayastha and his associates, police said.
"The accused persons have also conspired to disrupt supplies and services essential to the life of community in India and abet damage and destruction of property by protraction of farmers' protest through such illegal foreign funding," the application said.
A false narrative was propagated to discredit the Indian government's efforts to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, police said in the application.
It was learnt that Purkayastha conspired with a group -- People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism -- to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. It was also learnt that People's Dispatch Portal, owned and maintained by NewsClick, was used for intentionally peddling these false narratives in lieu of crores of rupees of illegally routed foreign funds as part of a conspiracy, the application stated.
An analysis of e-mails shows that Singham, Purkayastha and Chakravarty were in direct contact with each other and were found to be discussing how to create a map of India without Kashmir and to show Arunachal Pradesh as a disputed area, it added.
To achieve the objective, the accused, in the guise of foreign funds, received more than Rs 115 crore, according to the application.
Raids were conducted on Tuesday at 88 locations in Delhi and seven locations in other states on the suspects named in the FIR, police said.
The Delhi Police had applied for 15 days' police remand for both the accused and got their custody for seven days.
Police have sealed NewsClick's office in Delhi, officials said, adding that 46 suspects were questioned and digital devices, including laptops and mobile phones, besides documents, taken away for examination.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
