India Police Raid Media Offices and Journalists' Homes in Illegal Funding Probe
Indian police have conducted raids on the office of a news portal and the homes of journalists and writers associated with it as part of an investigation into alleged illegal foreign funding. The founder and editor-in-chief of the news portal, NewsClick, along with a journalist, have been arrested. The raids were carried out by the Enforcement Directorate, India's financial crime agency, following concerns raised by a New York Times report that named NewsClick as part of a global network receiving funds from an American billionaire to allegedly publish Chinese propaganda. The Indian government has been accused of suppressing the media, with India's ranking in the World Press Freedom Index falling to its lowest ever.