Noida: Aditya Anand, prime accused in the violent protest by workers in Noida, earlier this month, has been arrested by a team of the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police and Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF).
Anand, who had a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head, was arrested from the Tiruchirappalli Railway Station in Tamil Nadu, as reported by News18.
A case had been registered against him at the Phase-2 police station, and a non-bailable warrant issued by a local court.
Anand was involved in planning provocative actions and inciting violence during labour sit-ins and demonstrations, the police said. Teams were out searching from him, before they located him in Tamil Nadu.
The two-day protests saw several incidents of violence, arson and arrests. Investigation revealed that the unrest was not spontaneous as made out to be.
The violence was a “mala fide, internationally organised activity”, Noida’s police commissioner Laxmi Singh said. She named Aditya Anand, Manisha Chauhan and Rupesh Rai as key individuals involved in instigating the unrest.
While Rai had been travelling across the country since 2018, Anand was on the move since 2020, the police said. They would often appear at protest sites, instigating violence. Rai identified himself as an auto-rickshaw driver, while Anand was unemployed.
Planning for the Noida protests began on March 31 and April 1, the police claimed. On April 9 and 10, WhatsApp groups were created using QR codes. Workers protested on April 10, and on April 11 they were encouraged to block roads.
inflammatory speeches were allegedly made to provoke workers again, even after a peaceful settlement was reached on April 11. On April 13, workers were mobilised to gather outside the Motherson facility.
Two accounts on X were used to spread misinformation during the protests, the police said.
These accounts were being operated from Pakistan using VPNs and had been active for the past three months, the police commissioner said, adding that an FIR was registered at Sector 20 police station on April 13 in connection with these posts.
The accounts were allegedly run under the names Meer Ilayasi and Ayushi Tiwari.
Initially, more than 350 people had been taken into custody, but most were released. At the moment, 62 official arrests have been made. Nine individuals linked to arson and others were accused of attacking police. Officials said most of those arrested were not labourers, and some had come from outside the region.
Action would be taken under the National Security Act, the police said. Central agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau and the Anti-Terrorism Squad, have also joined the investigation.
Further action will follow as the probe continues, the police said.
