LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) arrested Aditya Anand, the alleged mastermind in the Noida labour unrest case, from Tamil Nadu on Saturday.
He had been on the run since the violence subsided, while half a dozen teams of Noida Police were deployed to trace him.
According to police sources, Anand, along with two others — Rupesh Rai and Manisha — allegedly instigated workers and played a key role in triggering the unrest by creating multiple WhatsApp groups on April 9 and 10 to mobilise workers.
A case had been registered against Anand at the Phase-2 police station in Gautam Buddha Nagar district. A local court had also issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him.
According to police authorities, the unrest was not spontaneous but planned in advance. During the probe, police also found indications of a possible international link, allegedly originating from Pakistan.
Officials said two social media handles on X (formerly Twitter) — @Proudindiannavi and @Mir_Ilyas_INC — were allegedly being operated from Pakistan and were active during the period of unrest.
Aditya Anand, on whom a reward of Rs 1 lakh had been announced, was arrested at a railway station in Tiruchirappalli after a multi-state search operation. Police teams used technical surveillance and conducted raids in several states before tracking him down.
Anand is a BTech graduate from National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur. He was present in Noida during the labour unrest. Police alleged that he created multiple WhatsApp groups using QR codes to mobilise workers and delivered provocative speeches to incite violence.
According to Gautam Buddh Nagar Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh, misleading and inflammatory content was circulated through social media accounts to disturb law and order in the district during the protests, which turned violent on April 13, with protesters engaging in large-scale stone pelting, vandalism and arson. Those accounts were operated using VPNs to hide identities. So far, 63 accused have been arrested.
Investigators said the network had been active for nearly three months. Some IP addresses have links to Pakistan. Authorities are now examining back-end data to trace the full extent of the alleged digital conspiracy.
Police sources said Anand, along with Rupesh Rai and Manisha, played a key role in mobilising workers. The trio was active in Noida on March 31 and April 1.
Between April 9 and 10, they allegedly created several WhatsApp groups and called on workers to protest, damage property and turn violent.
The unrest began on April 9, when factory workers protested over wage demands. With no resolution, workers took to the streets on April 13.
The protest, which began in Phase-2, spread to nearly 10 industrial sectors. Security forces, including PAC and RAF, were deployed to control the situation.
Further attempts at unrest were reported on April 14.
