*Editors Guild of India, Press Club of India, Chandigarh Press Club, Mumbai Press Clubs  deeply concerned about the raids at the residences of senior journalists

New Delhi: Various Journalist Bodies, including the Editors Guild of India (EGI), condemned the Delhi Police raids on news portal NewsClick and its journalists on October 3, with some alleging that it was an attempt to “muzzle” the press.

The Editors Guild of India issued a statement, saying it was deeply concerned about the raids at the residences of senior journalists on Tuesday morning. These raids are yet another attempt to “muzzle the media”, it said.

“We remind the government of the importance of an independent media in a functioning democracy and urge it to ensure that the fourth pillar is respected, nurtured and protected,” the guild said.

“While we recognise that the law must take its course if actual offences are involved, the due process has to be followed. The investigation of specific offences must not create a general atmosphere of intimidation under the shadow of draconian laws, or impinge on the freedom of expression and the raising of dissenting and critical voices,” it added.

In a post on X, the Press Club of India (PCI) said it is deeply concerned about the raids. “We are monitoring the developments and will be releasing a detailed statement. The PCI stands in solidarity with the journalists and demands the government to come out with details,” it said.

A spontaneous protest meeting was held at the PCI here against the police action. The meeting resolved to continue the protest to defend media freedom.

The Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC) said “this harassment” of the media by government agencies should stop.

“A vibrant democracy will never remain vibrant if the media is not given the space to analyse government policies independently. Elected democracies have a greater responsibility to ensure that the media operates in an unfettered manner,” it said in a statement.

The IWPC said the manner in which sections of the media are being repeatedly targeted—because they have raised concerns about certain policies of the government—reflects very poorly on a government representing the world’s largest democracy.

Chandigarh Press Club is also deeply concerned about the raids at residences of senior journalists.

Office-bearers of the club said in a statement senior journalists  were questioned by the Delhi police, their laptops mobiles and other devices have been seized. Journalists have been allegedly questioned under the draconian UAPA, alleging criminal conspiracies. Not only the employees of media organisation but independent journalists who have contributed stories for the organisation too have been target of raids.

The Mumbai Press Club also expressed “deep concern”.

“The Mumbai Press Club urges for an unbiased investigation and calls upon the Delhi Police to desist from what is perceived as a targeted harassment campaign against these journalists,” it said on X.

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia said it is deeply concerned by the recent series of raids on journalists.

Journalism is an essential pillar of any democratic society and the freedom of the press is a cornerstone of a functioning democracy, it said in a statement.

“We understand that the rule of law is important and such an action is based on an FIR against a news organisation and the investigation is going on. The FCC, however, urges the authorities to respect the fundamental rights of journalists and uphold the principles of press freedom and freedom of expression as per the Constitution of India,” it added.

Expressing concerns over the police action on the journalists of the news portal, the DIGIPUB News India Foundation said: “They have been detained, their phones and laptops seized. This is another instance of the government’s pattern of arbitrary and intimidatory behaviour. We are keeping an eye on the developments.”

In a separate statement, the National Alliance of Journalists, the Delhi Union of Journalists and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (Delhi unit) condemned the police raids.

They said the residences of Bhasha Singh, Urmilesh, Prabir Purkayastha, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Teesta Setalvad, Abhisar Sharma, Aunindyo Chakraborty, Mahesh Kumar, Subodh Varma, Aditi Nigam, Mukund Jha and many others were raided. The statement claimed that several of the mediapersons were also taken into custody.

The Delhi Police’s Special Cell searched 30 locations connected with NewsClick and its journalists in a case filed under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), following allegations that the online news portal received money for pro-China propaganda.

Some journalists, including Urmilesh and Sharma, were taken to the Lodhi Road Special Cell office.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier conducted raids at the portal’s premises to probe its sources of funding. The Special Cell is now continuing the searches on the basis of inputs provided by the central agency, the officials said.

The Special Cell has registered a new case under the UAPA and started an investigation, they added.

Officials aware of the developments said police have recovered the dump data from the laptops and mobile phones of some NewsClick journalists.

“The government has been targeting NewsClick apparently after the coverage this news portal gave to the issues of workers and farmers,” the statement issued by the National Alliance of Journalists, the Delhi Union of Journalists and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists alleged.

“We believe that this is yet another attempt by the Centre to muzzle the freedom of press. Such an action, raiding and intimidating almost all the employees in a media organisation, is unheard of,” it said.

The NewsClick management, the statement noted, has been maintaining that whatever funding it has received was through legal sources and that the evidence of this has been submitted to the Delhi High Court.

“These new raids are to divert public attention from burning livelihood issues of people…. We condemn this with the strongest possible words. We will stand with these journalists in this matter. We urge the Centre to immediately stop this attack on press freedom…,” it said.

In a statement, the National Union of Journalists (India) demanded an impartial investigation into the issue.

“NUJI believes that promoting Chinese propaganda in the country with the help of Chinese funding is a serious matter,” it said.