Prabir Purkayastha Age, Wife, Family, Biography

Quick Info→

Age: 74 Years

Wife: Githa Hariharan

Hometown: Delhi

Bio/Wiki
Profession	Engineer
Known for	Being the founder and editor-in-chief of the news website NewsClick
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	5' 9" (175 cm)
Eye Colour	Brown
Hair Colour	Salt & Pepper
Personal Life
Date of Birth	Year, 1950
Age (as of 2024)	74 Years
Birthplace	Delhi, India
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Delhi, India
College/University	• Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Prayagraj • Indian Institute of Technology Delhi • School of Language at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Educational Qualification(s)	• Master’s Degree from Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Prayagraj • Master's Thesis from Indian Institute of Technology ^[1]Scroll.in
Controversy	Arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) The Delhi police arrested Prabir Purkayastha on 3 October 2024 in relation to a case pending against his news website NewsClick under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The police officials dealing with the case revealed that NewsClick had allegedly received Rs. 38 crore from agencies having links with China for pro-China propaganda. While Rs. 29 crore were allegedly received as fees for export services, Rs. 9 crore were received as FDI through inflating share prices. Prior to Prabir's arrest, raids were carried out by the police at the homes and offices of journalists, authors, academics, and contributors working with NewsClick. The police seized the phones and laptops of all the employees, contributors, and consultants of the news portal. On 17 August 2023, a case was registed against the news website NewsClick under Sections 13, 16, 17, 18 and 22 of the anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Sections 153A and 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police following a report released by the New York Times. According to the report, NewsClick had received funds from a network with links to China to promote pro-China propaganda. On 14 May 2024, the Supreme Court said that his arrest was invalid, and he was entitled to be released from custody.
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Affairs/Girlfriends	Ashoka Lata Jain ^[2]Jamhoor
Family
Wife/Spouse	First Wife: Ashoka Lata Jain (rumoured) ^[3]Jamhoor Second Wife: Githa Hariharan (an author)
Children	Son- Pratik (from his second wife Githa Hariharan)
Parents	Father- Name Not Known Mother- S Purkayastha

Some Lesser Known Facts About Prabir Purkayastha

Prabir is known for his advocacy for scientific initiatives within the domains of power, telecommunications, and software. In 2023, he made the headlines after he was arrested by the Delhi Police under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly receiving funds from US billionaire Neville Roy Singham to promote pro-China content on his website.

During his college years, he was actively involved in student politics and once went to jail during the Emergency in a case of mistaken identity. He was trying to stop the students from attending classes at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, when some police officials dressed in casuals came searching for Devi Prasad Tripathi and instead arrested Prabir as he looked very similar to Tripathi.

While studying in college, Prabir developed an interest in writing and began writing articles on various issues.

Prabir Purkayastha started his career as a corporate employee.

In 2002, Prabir, along with Vijay Prashad, penned the book Enron Blowout: Corporate Capitalism and Theft of the Global Commons.

He has also co-authored the book Uncle Sam’s Nuclear Cabin (2007).
Prabir Purkayastha’s book- Uncle Sam’s Nuclear Cabin

In 2009, when he was working as a consultant in a company, he got the idea of starting up a news website. Simultaneously, he worked on the idea and rented a small room, from where he started his news venture NewsClick.
Prabir Purkayastha delivering a speech at an event