New Delhi: Lawyers for two activists arrested in connection with a 13 April Noida labour protest told the Supreme Court on 19 May that chats from a key WhatsApp group repeatedly urged protesters to remain “peaceful” and avoid “vandalism”, refuting police allegations that they incited the riots.
They also alleged that a Noida Police sub-inspector and a DCP’s driver infiltrated the WhatsApp group “Richa Global (Noida)” and posted provocative messages to incite violence, including calls to “jam the whole road” during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit. Police denied the allegations.
The lawyers representing the two arrested activists—engineer Aditya Anand and auto driver-trade union activist Rupesh Roy—told the court in response to an Uttar Pradesh government affidavit that group members “consistently advocated for a peaceful protest and expressly discouraged violence”.
The WhatsApp group, with over 100 members, is at the centre of the workers’ protests that spread to Noida from Manesar after the Haryana government announced a 35 percent hike in minimum wages following labour unrest earlier this year.
Multiple FIRs were filed, and over 300 workers, activists, students and journalists were arrested in connection with the protest, arson and vandalism case. Richa Global is a major textile exporter that was at the centre of the protests.
The Uttar Pradesh government’s affidavit in the top court alleged that workers were mobilised through multiple WhatsApp and Telegram groups, including “Richa Global Noida”, “Against Labour Code”, “Hundred Flowers Group”, and “Bigul Media Telegram Group”, where messages, videos and voice notes were circulated to sustain the protests.
The submission filed by counsels Manik Gupta and Puja Sharma forms part of petitions filed in the Supreme Court alleging illegal detention and custodial torture. Both accused have been in jail since April. Anand was arrested on 18 April while Rupesh was arrested on 11 April.
The petitioners said the allegations were “manifestly false, exaggerated and politically motivated”, and based on “coerced statements and fabricated recoveries”.
The documents placed before the top court provided elaborate details of WhatsApp chats on the group, warning against outsiders joining.
One message cited in the petition reads, “Friends, we are not here to vandalise. We have to strike peacefully.” Another said, “They have infiltrated some anarchic elements among us. We must drive them out.”
The ‘infiltration’
On how the identities of the alleged police official and the purported DCP’s driver in the WhatsApp group were established, the petition states that group members obtained their phone numbers directly from the chat and called them to verify their identities.
“Members of the WhatsApp group called SI Beena to confirm her identity, and she responded: ‘I am a sub-inspector in the police. I am speaking from Police Station 142 in Noida’,” says the petition.
Noida Police denied that a DCP’s driver was involved in the protest. “He is not a DCP’s driver. We have arrested him for impersonation,” an officer told ThePrint, adding that allegations against SI Beena were being examined.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Rajeev Narain Mishra told ThePrint that a “propaganda” post and video circulating on social media falsely claimed that Anil Kumar was a government employee serving as a driver for a UP Police officer or DCP.
“Anil is not a government employee. He has never served as a driver for any police officer. He is a private driver employed with an organisation in Delhi,” Mishra said, adding that Kumar currently has no association with Richa Global or any other company.
Mishra said Noida Police arrested Anil Kumar, 32, from Naya Gaon on 20 May following “confidential intelligence inputs”.
He added that Kumar had worked at Richa Global around two years ago.
Mishra added that even those circulating the allegations acknowledged that Anil had posted provocative messages in the group. “Anil was not added to the Richa Global group by Gautam Buddh Nagar Police. It has emerged that he was added by a group that was instigating violence in the name of a labour movement,” Mishra said, adding that police were investigating posts that allegedly incited violence.
Noida DCP (Central) Shailendra Kumar Singh told ThePrint that any further submissions would be made through the state affidavit. “The law is taking its course,” he said.