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Noida workers’ protests: 2 of 3 on police radar held, Pak-based X handles booked
A total of 13 FIRs have been registered and 62 people have been arrested, according to police officials.
Police personnel at the site where a large number of employees of a company vandalised vehicles following the stone pelting during a protest over their demands for a salary increment, in Phase 2 of Noida on Monday. (ANI Video Grab)
The Noida Police has identified three persons who led the workers’ protest that turned violent on Monday, The Indian Express has learnt. This comes amid two X handles, operating from Pakistan, being identified by the police for allegedly spreading misleading information and disrupting peace, Gautam Buddha Nagar Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh said on Thursday.
Police identified the three persons as Rupesh Roi, who claimed to be an autorickshaw driver; Aditya Anand, a BTech graduate from NIT Jamshedpur; and Manisha Chauhan. “While Roi and Chauhan, both residents of Bihar, were arrested on April 11, Aditya is yet to be arrested,” a senior officer said.
“All three, along with many others, had arrived in Noida between March 31 and April 1. By April 9 and 10, they had created multiple WhatsApp groups and added thousands of workers through QR codes,” the officer said, adding that they had also attended CAA-NRC protests in Delhi.
“They carried out marches on April 10 and delivered instigating and provocative speeches against law and order… urging workers to block roads on April 13 so their demands would be heard,” the officer said.
“We are trying to identify more people through CCTV camera footage, as incidents of vehicles being set on fire outside Motherson occurred after the accused called workers from inside to come out and protest.” The officer was referring to Samvardhana Motherson International, which saw violent protests at its site in Noida Phase 2.
Commissioner Laxmi Singh, meanwhile, said that the two X handles operating from Pakistan were booked on April 13 for spreading misleading information electronically with the intention of disrupting public peace and law and order, as well as for spreading fear and anger among the public. She added that a technical analysis of the two X handles, @Proudindiannavi and @Mir_Ilyas_INC, revealed that they were being operated from Pakistan with the use of VPNs.
Singh further said that FIRs under sections 353[1] (public mischief/incitement) and 353[2] (hate speech and communal hatred) of the BNS as well as under Section 66 (computer-related offences) of the IT Act have been registered at Sector 20 police station in Noida. As part of the probe, user details of the accounts have been obtained from X, Singh said.
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In all, 13 FIRs have been registered and 62 people arrested in connection to Monday’s violence, said Singh. “The situation in Gautam Buddha Nagar has been completely normal since yesterday… Various industrial establishments and units in Gautam Buddha Nagar are open, and workers are working peacefully,” she added.
On Tuesday, the Uttar Pradesh government had increased the minimum wage for workers and announced the formation of a wage board to make recommendations regarding future salary hikes. “The terms of the agreement reached with workers are being implemented. This has brought satisfaction to all workers, and dialogue is ongoing…,” Singh said.
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