Pakistan-linked accounts fanned violence during Noida workers' protest, 2 held: Police

After scanning multiple photos from protests in different states and using electronic surveillance, police tracked the three for instigating worker protests.

Police have arrested two people while efforts are underway to apprehend a third accused for “systematically” instigating violence and large-scale arson ahead of last week’s factory workers’ protests, the Noida Police chief said on Thursday, adding that investigators have also filed cases against two social media handles that were “being operated from Pakistan.” The National Security Act will also be invoked against them, she said.

For three days, from April 10 to 12, the protest remained on a low scale, but on April 13, it turned violent, during which more than 100 factories were vandalised and vehicles were torched across the district. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

“The suspects have been identified as Rupesh Roy, an autorickshaw driver from Chapra, Bihar; Aditya Anand, a B.Tech graduate from Jamshedpur, Jharkhand and a native of Bihar; and Manisha Chouhan from Gopalganj, Bihar,” said Laxmi Singh, commissioner of police, Gautam Budh Nagar, adding that Roy and Chouhan have been arrested.

After scanning multiple photos from protests in different states and using electronic surveillance, police tracked the three for instigating factory worker protests. “Their involvement was found across multiple states, including Delhi, Hyderabad, and Haryana’s Manesar protest,” Singh said.

Police registered two FIRs against two handles on social media website X at Sector 20 police station. When electronic data was sought from X, it was revealed that “both accounts were created by someone in India, but for the past three months they have been operated from Pakistan,” Singh said, adding that a few elements are trying to harm major industrial hubs and incite violence using social media.

How was the violence planned?

The movements of the three suspects, along with other people, were found in Noida on March 31 and April 1, she explained. Later, on April 9 and 10, after retrieving data from Haryana-based companies’ WhatsApp groups, they created WhatsApp groups of Noida factory workers by sending QR codes. All groups had more than 1,000 members, and they instigated workers to block roads if they wanted their demands to be approved, the Noida top cop stated.

An official part of the investigation told HT, “Three groups were made at 2 am on April 10, where people were directed to stage protests and informed about locations to reach.”

“On April 11, when workers were satisfied after a meeting with the concerned department, Roy and Chouhan made instigating speeches against police and the administration. They were arrested late on the night of April 11 from Noida, while Anand remains at large,” she said.

Roy and Chouhan were the admins of all three groups and went active on April 13. On the day of violence, directions were given to people for protest.

“On April 13, when we contained the situation in the first half of the day, two X accounts posted misleading content, one of which read ‘six dead and 67 injured,’ while another stated ‘14 dead and 32 injured during police firing in the Noida protest’,” said Singh, adding that these posts led to a resumption of protests in the afternoon. URLs to the posts were also recovered from mobile phones of workers who were part of the protest, she alleged.

Police said Roy has been actively participating in protests across India since 2018, while Anand has been involved since 2020. They are investigating how an autorickshaw driver and two unemployed people were able to travel across India and who is funding them. Roy, Anand, and Chouhan are booked under relevant sections of the BNS and Section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act for instigating violence. The National Security Act will also be invoked against them.

Since Monday, Noida police have registered 13 FIRs across the district and arrested 62 people for rioting, vandalism, arson, and violence.

The factory workers’ protest began on April 10 in Noida’s Phase 2 after the Haryana government increased salaries of unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled workers by 35%. For three days, from April 10 to 12, the protest remained on a low scale, but on April 13, it turned violent, during which more than 100 factories were vandalised and vehicles were torched across the district.