NewsClick case: Delhi Police team goes to Mumbai to question activist Gautam Navlakha
New Delhi (PTI): A team of Delhi Police has gone to Mumbai to question activist Gautam Navlakha in connection with probe into NewsClick's alleged foreign fundings and anti-India activities, an official said on Saturday.
Navlakha will be questioned at his house in Navi Mumbai's Agroli, an official said, adding that the team is led by an assistant commissioner of police (ACP)-level officer.
Navlakha, who was on house arrest, was granted bail on December 19 in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
In August, the special cell registered an FIR under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against news portal NewsClick, alleging that a large amount of funds came from China to "disrupt the sovereignty of India" and cause "disaffection against the country".
The investigating agency arrested news portal's founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha and human resources department head Amit Chakravarty on October 3. They are currently in judicial custody.
The FIR claimed that the Chinese foreign funds were allegedly distributed to activist Gautam Navlakha and associates of activists Teesta Seetalvad, her husband and Javed Anand, and journalists Urmilesh, Aratrika Halder, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Abhisar Sharma, and others.
Navlakha has been associated with Purkhayastha since 1991 and is also a shareholder of PPK NewsClick Studio Private Limited since 2018, according to the FIR.
It also alleged Purkayastha conspired with a group -- People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) -- to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
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Advocate found dead in car on Nainital court premises
Nainital (PTI): A 55-year-old advocate allegedly died by suicide after shooting himself inside his car at the Nainital district court parking lot here on Monday, police said.
According to the police, Puran Singh Bhakuni, a resident of Mallital, was found in the rear seat of his vehicle with a gunshot wound to his temple.
Police recovered a licensed pistol from his hand and a suicide note from the car’s dashboard. The note stated that Bhakuni was unwell and suffering from depression.
"We received information through lawyers around noon. The deceased was lying in the back seat with a pistol in his hand and blood near his ear," Circle Officer Anjana Negi said.
Forensic teams and ballistic experts reached the spot to collect evidence, as no witness reported hearing the gunshot.
Government counsel Sushil Sharma stated that Bhakuni left home at 9 am and was found dead at 9.30 am.
Sharma raised concerns over the circumstances, noting that the body was in the rear seat, and demanded a thorough probe to rule out foul play. Bhakuni, who worked as a notary, had married six months ago, he said.
Police took the body into custody and sent it for a postmortem to confirm the cause of death.
The forensic laboratory will examine the suicide note and the ballistics of the weapon, the police said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.
