Kamal Ghorui
NOIDA: Workers staged a fresh protest outside a private company near Sector 8 Jama Masjid, demanding a salary hike on Friday. Police reached the spot and were seen trying to pacify the agitating workers. Meanwhile, Noida Police on Thursday claimed that two accounts on social media platform X, allegedly operated from Pakistan, played a role in fuelling violence during the April 13 labour protest over minimum wage hikes.According to police, the accounts, Anushi Tiwari (Proud Indian) and Meer Ilyas Inc, circulated false claims about multiple deaths during the protest to incite workers. Information later received from X suggested that both accounts were being operated from Pakistan using VPNs. An FIR has been registered at Sector 20 police station.Police are also probing the role of a group called Mazdoor Bigul Dasta, whose members allegedly mobilised workers and incited unrest. Investigators said three individuals, Rupeesh Roy, Manisha Chauhan, and Aditya Anand created multiple WhatsApp groups using QR codes on April 10 around 2am, shortly after Haryana announced a 35% hike in minimum wages.Each group reportedly had over 800 members, including workers from major industrial units such as Motherson and Richa Industries.Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh said the trio was not from Noida and had arrived in the city on March 31. They allegedly held meetings with workers across industrial areas and were also involved in the April 10 protest demanding wage parity with Haryana workers.Roy and Chauhan were arrested on April 11, while Anand remains absconding. Anand, a BTech graduate from NIT Jamshedpur and a resident of Hazaribagh in Jharkhand, is also suspected to have been involved in mobilising protests during the agitation against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), police said.Roy, who is also from Hazaribagh and works as an auto driver, was allegedly involved in the Manesar protest that preceded Haryana’s wage hike decision.Police further said the X accounts were created by Yogesh, an associate of Roy.So far, 13 FIRs have been registered in connection with the case, and 62 accused have been sent to judicial custody. Police have not ruled out invoking the National Security Act (NSA) against some of those involved.Commissioner Singh described the violence as a coordinated attempt to disrupt law and order through a mix of digital misinformation and on-ground mobilisation.(With PTI inputs)
