No China government funds: NewsClick investor denies allegations listed by Delhi Police

Neville Roy Singham said: 'I do not work for, nor take instruction from, nor receive funding from the Propaganda Department or any division of the Chinese government or the Communist Party of China'

TT, New Delhi, 18.10.23 : Shanghai-based US investor Neville Roy Singham has denied allegations levelled in numerous cases against the news portal NewsClick.

NewsClick has been accused of accepting funds illegally from Singham, who the police have described as an “active member” of the Communist Party of China, in an FIR by Delhi Police’s Special Cell.

The FIR alleges that the tech magnate’s funding was aimed at disrupting “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India”.

NewsClick editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakraborty are under arrest since October 3.

In a statement released to The Hindu, Singham said: “I do not have other sources of funds besides my personal savings, revenue from the sale of the company, and the subsequent income from my personal investments… I do not work for, nor take instruction from, nor receive funding from the Propaganda Department or any division of the Chinese government or the Communist Party of China.”

He said he is not a member of the Communist Party of China — whose membership is restricted to Chinese citizens since 1956.

On the allegation of exchanging emails “to show Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as not part of India”, Singham said: “In 2020, I was presented with an opportunity to sponsor a free and open-source software project that would allow anyone to create their own equal-area projection maps... the goal was always to allow citizens of each country to produce maps that are consistent with its own laws and reflect their sovereign counties’ (sic) national interests.”