A first-year law student at Delhi University, arrested in connection with the April 13 industrial workers' unrest in Noida, received support on Wednesday from student groups and activists who claimed that police had no evidence against him. Yogesh Meena was detained by Noida police officers outside Ramjas College on the afternoon of May 30 while distributing handbills to raise awareness about the alleged illegal detention of workers and students supporting Noida factory workers' demand for higher minimum wages. He was picked up along with another student, Sameer Kumar, who was later released.
Allegations of Ill-Treatment
Kumar told the Times of India on Wednesday that Uttar Pradesh Police officers in plainclothes detained them without stating any reason or showing an arrest warrant. “We were taken from one police station to another and harassed with casteist slurs along the way,” he said. Yogesh belongs to a scheduled tribe community and Kumar to a scheduled caste. Although Kumar was released from Maurice Nagar police station, he filed a complaint with the Station House Officer, with copies to the Deputy Commissioner of Police and the Delhi Police commissioner, alleging ill-treatment at the hands of the officers.
Background of the Accused
Meena, an LLB student at Sri Ram College of Commerce and a member of Disha Students’ Organisation, had contested the Delhi University Students’ Union presidential election last year. Originally from Jaipur, he has allegedly been estranged from his family over differences. His batchmate Rauf Sidiq, an artist who has participated in cultural activities with Yogesh, said that his parents wanted him to build a career and find employment. “When Yogesh continued with his activism and support for the poor and downtrodden, his parents made efforts to stop him, because of which he kept away from the family,” Sidiq said.
Legal Charges
Yogesh was arrested under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 109(1) (attempt to murder), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), and 326(g) (mischief by fire or explosive substance). Police have claimed that he played a key role in planning and amplifying the protest through social media networks.
Digital Evidence and Communication Records
The special investigation team (SIT) that is probing incidents of arson and vandalism during the protest says it has substantial digital evidence and communication records, including conversations from the day of the violence, establishing frequent contact between Yogesh and Anil Kumar (32), who was arrested last month under BNS sections 109(1) (attempt to murder), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) and 326(G) (mischief) for allegedly sharing incendiary content on a WhatsApp group linked to workers of Richa Global Noida.
Activists Dispute Police Claims
Activists, however, said that Yogesh’s only substantive interaction with him was a phone call made after Anil circulated a voice note asking protesters to block a road. “He posted messages in the group urging workers to remain peaceful and avoid vandalism,” the Campaign for the Release of Workers and Activists of Noida (CaRWAN) said in a statement. The group demanded that police release Yogesh’s call detail records to establish that he was complicit in inciting violence. CaRWAN also rejected the police’s claim of a criminal conspiracy, arguing that the ties among arrested activists and students stemmed from membership of the same student organisation and did not constitute criminal activity.
