Lawyers representing two of the four activists arrested last month on charges of instigating violence during the industrial workers' protest have told the Supreme Court that a screenshot of a burning car and a voice message to block a road were posted on a WhatsApp group by a Noida police sub-inspector and a Deputy Commissioner of Police's driver.
Filed in response to the state affidavit detailing the investigation into the April 13 protest, arson, and vandalism, the submission by counsels Manik Gupta and Puja Sharma identifies the two individuals who made the posts as Sub-Inspector Beena, posted in Sector 142, and Anil Kumar. It contends that these two officers infiltrated the 'Richa Global Noida' WhatsApp group to foment trouble.
The submission states, 'Richa Global Noida is a group consisting mainly of workers; the total number of participants is 1,024. The WhatsApp chats are available in the public domain.' This was filed on behalf of Aditya Anand, an engineer, and Rupesh Roy, an auto driver and trade union activist, who have moved the Supreme Court citing custodial torture. Anand was arrested on April 18, and Roy on April 11, two days before the violent protest.
Other arrested activists who have also approached the top court include Satyam Verma, a Lucknow-based translator and journalist who writes for the periodical 'Mazdoor Bigul', and DU history graduate Aakriti Choudhary. While Choudhary moved for bail and was told by the Supreme Court to approach the Allahabad High Court, Verma's wife has sought a CBI probe into the charges brought against him by police. Verma and Aakriti have been charged under the National Security Act.
The submission adds that the voice message posted by Kumar said, 'Modi aa rha hai bypass ka udghatan krne kl pura road jam krna chahiye' (Modi is coming to inaugurate the bypass, we must jam the entire road). After this, other group members urged people not to engage in any form of violence. It cited a message from a member named Yogesh: 'Sathiyo tod-fod hume nhi machani hai. Hume shantipurn tareeke se hadtal krni hai' (Friends, we should not engage in vandalism. Our agitation should be peaceful).
Police claimed that as many as eight WhatsApp and Telegram groups were used to circulate messages encouraging the labour agitation. These groups include 'Richa Global Noida', 'Against Labour Code', 'Hundred Flowers Group', 'Progressive Artists League Group', 'SFS Air Pollution Group', 'X-Storms', 'Naujawan Bharat Sabha', and 'Bigul Media'. However, the petitioners' submission argues that these are actually very old groups consisting mostly of students, researchers, academics, and teachers, focusing on topics such as art, literature, academics, air pollution in Delhi, and the ideas of Bhagat Singh, which have nothing to do with the agitation.
In its additional affidavit before the Supreme Court, police traced the roots of the Noida protest violence to a March 22 event in Delhi's Karawal Nagar. The state affidavit said, 'A meeting was allegedly held at Bhagat Singh Yuva Kendra Library, Karawal Nagar, Delhi, attended by Aditya Anand, Rupesh Roy, Satyam Verma, and several others, wherein discussions relating to intensification of labour agitation in Haryana and Noida allegedly took place.'
The petitioners' submission rebutted this, stating that the alleged meeting was an open public inaugural ceremony of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Yuva Kendra, which runs educational assistance for poor and underprivileged children and youth. The programme was predominantly attended by children of the badam mazdoor. The yuva kendra was under construction for more than a year, and this inaugural ceremony on March 22 was planned and made public on March 14, 23 days before the agitation. The submission also attached photos of children who attended the event.
Priyamvada, a social activist who also attended the event, told TOI on Wednesday that during the event, children participated in painting, chess, and quiz competitions. 'There was a display of their paintings. We have videos of the event that show people raising slogans in the name of Bhagat Singh and speaking of taking the country to new heights,' she added.
