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For jailed Noida workers, cost of ‘poori subzi’ is 53 days in jail, lifetime of fear, debt

The three accused and their families told The Indian Express that they did not take part in the protests — and requested anonymity to discuss their cases. These are their stories:

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20-year-old says picked up from lane outside home. (Express photo)

6 min readNew DelhiAug 20, 2026 06:06 PM IST First published on: Aug 20, 2026 at 05:23 AM IST

Two were arrested from near their homes, a third while looking for work, and a fourth when he stepped out for ‘poori-sabzi’. Today, they have returned home but are struggling to repay money their families borrowed for bail, court visits and jail meetings. Some are afraid to even step out. Their cases sum up the findings of The Indian Express investigation of 222 bail orders in seven major FIRs linked to the Noida labour protests from April.

AI generated image

Those accused face a number of serious charges, ranging from rioting to attempt to murder, but have obtained bail after the courts either found no specific act attributed to them, questioned the evidence against them, or held that mere presence at a protest was not enough.

The three accused and their families told The Indian Express that they did not take part in the protests — and requested anonymity to discuss their cases.

These are their stories:

‘What if police pick him up again?’

The 34-year-old daily wage worker was picked up by police from Labour Chowk in Noida on April 14 for his alleged role in the protests. He was released on bail 40 days later, after spending weeks in the Kasna jail.

His mother learned of the arrest when his father called. “The market is closed. Why are you leaving?” she recalls telling the worker before he left home that day. A coworker later confirmed he had been picked up while looking for work.

Also Read | Noida Protests: Why the Indian worker is reaching a breaking point

The family — migrant workers from Bihar who moved to Delhi 20 years ago — visited him in jail every two days, traveling from Ashok Vihar to Kasna jail, spending a total of “nearly Rs 50,000 for jail and court visits”.

With both parents working in a Noida garment factory and the younger brother at a Blinkit store, the family also took in the worker’s wife and three children (aged 8, 6, and 3), giving up their room and sleeping under a mosquito net on the terrace so the children could sleep indoors. The mother says she lost her job as a worker in an apparel factory in Noida over the frequent jail visits, but her husband’s manager was “more understanding”.

The children were initially told their father was away for work. When they finally visited him, his younger daughter broke down. After bail, the family has sent the worker back home in Bihar’s Ara district. “What if police come and pick him up while he is walking on the road,” his mother says. In Bihar, the worker’s younger daughter follows him everywhere. “You will leave us again, papa,” she tells him.

‘My parents call six times a day’

The 19-year-old worker came to Noida in January after completing Class 12, planning to work and send money home to his family of landless farmers in UP’s Prayagraj.

On April 14, he stepped out of his workplace — an automotive components unit — for a plate of “poori-sabzi”.

19-year-old says stepped out for food, was arrested. (Express photo)

Police picked him up with three others, telling them they were being taken for “questioning” and would be “released by 2 pm”. They were taken to jail instead on charges of rioting, criminal conspiracy, voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful confinement, mischief and assault against a public servant, among others.

Also Read | Noida workers’ protest: Why anger has been simmering in industrial belts in many cities

“My father came on the day I got bail. He did not say anything and stood in silence even after seeing me. I know how he must have felt,” according to the 19-year-old.

Following his release on bail on May 18, he joined a call centre. “I made a mistake by stepping out that morning. My parents now ring up six times a day, worrying that the police would pick me up again… That poori-sabzi ended up costing me dearly that day.”

‘Not able to sleep at night’

A group of seven relatives took a bus and then an auto for the 25-km journey to the Surajpur district court on July 15. They had come hoping to bring home two young men from the family, aged 20 and 18, who had been in jail for three months.

The two from Sitamarhi in Bihar — one worked in a cable-making factory and the other in an apparel factory — had been picked up from the lane outside their Sector 58 home in Noida on April 14, on charges of attempt to murder, rioting, voluntarily causing hurt by using deadly weapons and causing damage to property.

Their families denied the charges and say they have spent “almost Rs 3 lakh on both of them” and sought relatives’ help for surety bonds.

Also Read | Noida workers jailed for 53 days on average. Then courts stepped in

At 5 pm, as the court emptied, a 24-year-old relative said, “You all leave, I’ll bring them back.” He returned at 10 pm. One had been released; a documentation problem meant the other had to wait for two more days to step out after completing three months and a day in jail.

The 20-year-old, who was released first, touched the mattress after returning home. “Yesterday, I was sitting on the floor, and walking up to the lock-up bars asking if my bail papers were here,” he said.

Also Read | Behind bail denial to Noida protesters: NSA invoked, book, articles cited

The mother of the 18-year-old said her son had broken down during her jail visits. “I am still not able to sleep at night,” said the 45-year-old former househelp.