- By Shubham Bajpai
- Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:12 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
In a breakthrough, Noida Police have identified Aditya Anand, a former student of NIT Jamshedpur, as the mastermind behind the violent workers' protests in Noida over a pay hike. Police have identified three main perpetrators of the violence, two of whom have been arrested, while Aditya remains at large.
Additionally, the police have also found two X accounts, operating from Pakistan, to have played a major role in inciting the riots.
The protests erupted on Monday after company workers in Noida's Phase 2 (Hosiery Complex) turned violent. There was heavy stone-pelting and vehicles were torched. Police investigations have revealed that this was not a spontaneous protest, but a well-planned conspiracy.
The main perpetrator of this violence is Aditya Anand, a resident of Hazaribagh and a B-Tech graduate from NIT Jamshedpur.
Since 2020, Anand has been trying to incite violence across the country. Along with him, auto drivers Rupesh Roy and Manisha Chauhan, both from Bihar, are also prime accused in this case. Police arrested Rupesh and Manisha on April 11, while a vigorous search is underway for Aditya.
How were workers connected and incited?
According to police, the three accused had reached Noida on March 31 and April 1. Subsequently, on April 9 and 10, several WhatsApp groups were created and workers were added to them using QR codes. These groups were used to incite the mob. These accused have previously been found present at anti-CAA-NRC protests in Delhi.
Noida Police Commissioner IPS Laxmi Singh stated that during the violence, two X handles named Anushi Tiwari and Mir Ilyas were continuously spreading fake information and false reports of deaths in police firing.
A cyber investigation revealed that both accounts were being operated from Pakistan. Their primary goal was to incite unrest and riots in India's industrial areas. Currently, police are conducting raids to arrest Aditya Anand.
Situation under control in Noida
IPS Singh said that the situation in Noida has remained under control for the last two days, and businesses have been opening like before.
She said, "There is peace in Noida for the last two days, police did flag march, picket duty, all the business units opened, the labourers started working in different shifts... The UP government had accepted the recommendations of the high-level committee, the wages were increased, the labourers were content... A decision to constitute a wage board was taken by seeing the conditions of the labourers, it was informed to the labourers, then they returned to work."