Noida workers protest planned to last in multiple phases till May: UPSTF

UPSTF officials said the protests were planned to continue in multiple phases till at least May. They linked the protests to a core group of 24 individuals across Delhi, Noida, Haryana, and the South, with funding and organizational links under investigation. They noted that the accused group includes people originally from Bihar.

The suspect was produced before a local court in Chennai and sent to jail. He was brought to Gautam Budh Nagar on Sunday after transit remand. Investigators recovered electronic evidence suggesting planning of the protest in multiple phases. It was noted that there are 24 people in the core group involved in instigating the Noida protests, with activities spanning Delhi, Haryana’s Manesar, and parts of the South; the network is connected to activism groups dating back to 2023 and 2025.

Two UPSTF policemen arrested the 28-year-old suspect, a resident of Arun Vihar in Sector 37, from Tiruchirappalli railway station in Chennai at around 1:30 am and brought him to Gautam Budh Nagar after obtaining transit remand from a local court in Chennai.

On April 13, the protest turned violent, with more than 100 factories vandalised and vehicles torched across Noida. The 28-year-old suspect left the city as violence spread.

The Noida protest continued in a low-scale form through April 12 as part of the initial Phase 2 activity.

Two other accomplices — a resident of Kulersa in Noida and another from Delhi — were arrested on April 11 and are already in jail. All three suspects are originally from different districts of Bihar.

The factory workers’ protest in Noida began in Phase 2 on April 10 after the Haryana government increased salaries of unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled workers by 35 percent. The protest remained low-scale for three days, spanning April 10 to 12.