Followed legal steps in search at house of Noida activist over Noida stir: Cops

CaRWAN alleged CCTV footage showed police attempting to place a mobile phone inside the activist’s home during a search on April 25.

Noida police on Wednesday said “all legal procedures” were followed during the search operation at the residence of a woman activist arrested in connection with the Noida factory workers’ protest in April after an ad-hoc human rights advocacy group alleged that they had “planted evidence”.

Activist group releases CCTV video, alleges evidence was planted

The dispute centres on a police search of activist Srishti’s residence in connection with the April factory workers’ protests. (HT Archive)

This denial comes a day after Campaign for Release of Workers and Activists of Noida (CaRWAN) posted a video making the allegations. In the 2.42-minute video shared on X, police officials can allegedly be seen inside a residence. CaRWAN alleged that it was CCTV footage, recorded on April 25 at around 11.21pm, where Uttar Pradesh Police “took her during custody to ‘recover evidence’” and tried “to implant (sic) evidence”.

In the 2.42 video, a police officer can be seen placing an object, purportedly a mobile phone, before informing another officer about the camera while discussing a diary. The video further shows an unidentified man, in civilian clothes, switching off a camera placed at another location in presence of police officers.

Police say search followed legal procedures

In a statement, the office of deputy commissioner of police (central Noida), Shailendra Kumar Singh, on Wednesday said, “A search operation was conducted at the activist’s residence while following all legal procedures. The search proceedings were completed in the presence of the accused and independent witnesses.”

It also said the accused was granted police protection as per the order of the court. Further, adding that the search memo itself clearly states that no mobile phone or diary was recovered from the said place, the statement said, “When the accused party had no evidence in their favour, an attempt was made to mislead the Court and the general public by spreading misleading propaganda.”

CaRWAN rejects police explanation

In response, CaRWAN, in a post on X, said the “clarifications do not align with the facts. The UP police attempted to plant evidence but clearly backtracked once they noticed a CCTV camera in Srishti’s house…It must also be noted that Srishti herself has gone to court to fight against this planting of fake evidence.”

The April protests had erupted across industrial clusters in Noida’s Phase-2 and adjoining areas, with thousands of factory workers demanding higher wages, parity with neighbouring states, overtime compensation and better working conditions.

The agitation escalated into violence after clashes with police, with incidents of stone-pelting, arson, vandalism and road blockades reported across parts of the industrial hub. Police used tear gas and force to disperse protesters, while several arrests were made in the aftermath.

Activists among hundreds arrested after violence

Police subsequently arrested hundreds of people including activists for their alleged role in the violence, invoking National Security Act (NSA) against two individuals, including a woman.

According to the court order, Srishti was arrested on April 17 and charged with various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, and intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of the public peace.