Noida workers’ stir: activists demand release of those still in jail

Student leaders and activists on Tuesday held a protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the release of people arrested in connection with the workers’ agitation in Noida in April.

The protest was organised by Campaign for the Release of Workers and Activists of Noida (CaRWAN), a human rights advocacy group, to mark four months since the arrests.

Protesters included students, artists, activists, workers, and family members of those arrested. They held placards terming the action “illegal and baseless” and photographs of those in jail.

Keshav Anand, a member of CaRWAN and whose brother was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police, alleged that Delhi Police tried to stop the protest and warned them of legal action. “Delhi Police did not think of [citing the] law when students were [illegally] picked up by [U.P.] police personnel in plain clothes from Delhi without an arrest warrant,” he said.

‘Zero evidence’

Workers in the Noida industrial area staged a series of protests in April over issues such as wage hike, working hours and better overtime pay, with violence reported during one such stir. Several individuals were arrested and multiple FIRs registered alleging that “outsiders” and coordinated misinformation networks hijacked the protests. A few of them have been charged under the National Security Act (NSA), with the police stating that the accused tried to “disturb public order”. The NSA enables the detention of an individual for up to a year without trial.

“The allegations are baseless, backed by zero evidence,” Mr. Keshav said.

The police have named his brother, Aditya Anand, as the prime accused for allegedly “inciting violence”.

“It has been four months since eight activists have been in jail. The U.P. police have registered at least 11 FIRs against each of them and invoked provisions of the NSA against [student activist] Akriti Choudhary and [Lucknow-based journalist] Satyam Verma. However, the police have not presented any concrete evidence so far in court. The judges have also pointed out in some of the bail orders that the police failed to present any evidence in support of these charges,” Mr. Keshav said.

Family members alleged that the harassment was not confined to those arrested, with police searching their homes without warrants, demanding identity proofs, and interrogating friends and relatives.

Naureen Sabba, a friend of Srishti, another activist arrested by the U.P. police, said, “On April 18, the police came to our PG room and interrogated me. They even asked the PG owner to throw us out, calling us ‘terrorists’. We have filed multiple complaints with various authorities, including the National Commission for Women, highlighting these illegalities but haven’t got any response.”

Alleged mismatch

The protesters pointed out alleged contradictions in police statements regarding the timeline of events.

They alleged that in several cases the location and date of arrests mentioned in the chargesheets were different from those in the remand sheets submitted before the magistrate. “The date of arrest of Akriti, Srishti, Manisha, and Rupesh are different in the chargesheets and remand sheets. In one chargesheet, Akriti’s phone is said to have been found in her bag at a location near the Noida Phase 2 police station on April 26. Another chargesheet stated that the last known location of her phone was the Botanical Garden metro station from where she was arrested on April 11 at 7.04 p.m. How could she have placed her phone at a different location while being in police custody?” Mr. Keshav said.

The protesters said despite “wrongful incarceration”, those arrested are using their time in jail to do social work. “Akriti has started teaching the children of women inmates while Aditya and others have revived the defunct library [in Kasna jail],” Mr. Keshav said.