Noida workers’ protest: Two accused booked under NSA for allegedly inciting violence

Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday booked two persons accused of inciting violence during the workers’ protest in Noida in April under the National Security Act, the Hindustan Times reported.

The Act allows for long periods of detention without trial up to a year.

On April 13, workers’ protests in Noida turned violent. Videos widely shared on social media showed some protesters throwing stones and vandalising property, as security personnel tried to bring the situation under control.

A large number of workers from several industrial units had gathered in parts of the city to press long-standing demands that their salaries be increased. A day later, more than 350 persons had been arrested in connection with the violence.

The two persons who were booked under the National Security Act on Wednesday are 60-year-old Satya Verma and 25-year-old Aakriti Chaudhary.

The police alleged that the role played by the two was “significant in instigating violence, arson and creating chaos” during the protest, the Hindustan Times reported. Verma and Chaudhary “provoked” persons in different areas to “disturb public order”, the police alleged.

Verma is a former journalist from Lucknow and Chaudhary, a history graduate from Delhi University, is from Durgapur in West Bengal.

The two are members of the Mazdoor Bigul Dasta, a workers’ organisation, The Indian Express quoted the police as saying.

The family of Chaudhary claimed that she had been picked up by the police from a metro station in Noida on April 11, The Indian Express reported.

Her father Arun Chaudhary asked how a person who had been picked up on April 11 could be charged with violence that took place on April 13.

The newspaper quoted the police as saying that she had been initially detained for allegedly causing public disorder. “After taking her into custody, we investigated and found evidence of her involvement in organising the protest,” the police stated.

She has also been accused of attempted murder, intent to cause death or grievous harm, endangering life or personal safety and criminal conspiracy, the newspaper reported.

The lawyers representing Verma and Chaudhary said they will challenge the National Security Act charges in the Allahabad High Court, the Hindustan Times reported.

The newspaper quoted Advocate Chaudhary Ali Zia Kabir, the counsel for Verma, as saying that the Uttar Pradesh government “is rattled” by the bail hearings on Tuesday as the police do not have enough evidence against the persons who have been arrested.

“They are invoking the NSA only to keep them in jail for six to seven months,” Kabir was quoted as having alleged.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava

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