Noida protests: Alleged mastermind Aditya Anand arrested in Tamil Nadu

The alleged mastermind behind the violent workers’ protest in Noida has been arrested in Tamil Nadu. The arrest was made jointly by officials of the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police and the Special Task Force.

Arrest and charges

The accused, identified as Aditya Anand, was arrested at the Tiruchirappalli Railway Station on Saturday (April 18). He was carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh and had been absconding since the incident.

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Police said that a case had been registered against him at the Phase-2 police station, and a non-bailable warrant had also been issued by a local court for his arrest.

They further revealed that Anand was involved in orchestrating provocative activities and inciting violence during labour sit-ins and demonstrations in the district.

Raids across multiple states

Police teams had been conducting raids across multiple states to trace him before finally arresting him in Tamil Nadu.

According to investigators, the accused was tracked by means of electronic surveillance and intelligence inputs. They further revealed that Anand and his accomplices conspired to incite unrest and to turn the protest violent.

Also Read: Noida protests: Police say ‘outsiders’ tried to incite unrest; several detained

Hailing from Hazaribagh in Jharkhand, Anand is a BTech from NIT Jamshedpur and was recruited as a software engineer at a private company in Noida through campus recruitment.

According to media reports, he used to live in Gurgaon for work before he returned to Noida in June 2025. He was residing during the time of the protest.

Association with labour groups

Police said Anand’s association with labour groups dates back to 2022, when he came across Mazdoor Bigul, a workers’ collective headed by Anubhav Sinha, through Facebook. Investigators claim he soon began documenting working conditions in local factories.

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The following year, during the Bhagat Singh Jan Adhikar Yatra, an outreach campaign organised by the same group, he is said to have met Rupesh Roy. Roy was arrested on April 11 along with Manisha Chauhan, both named by police as co-conspirators in the case.

According to officials, Anand’s involvement with the organisation grew over time, bringing him into closer contact with its senior members and into protests held in different parts of the country. Police have also cited his alleged links with groups such as Disha Student Organisation, RWPI and Naujavan Bharat Sabha.

Case lodged

Teams from the Noida police and the Special Task Force fanned out across multiple states in search of him after initial inputs suggested he might be in Delhi. Officers said sustained tracking efforts eventually led to his arrest, adding that his interrogation could help identify others connected to the episode.

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Police said Anand will be taken to Noida on transit remand. A local court had earlier issued a non-bailable warrant against him, and an FIR was registered at the Phase 2 police station invoking several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including sections related to rioting, causing hurt, deterring a public servant from duty, criminal intimidation, intentional insult aimed at provoking a breach of peace, and conspiracy, along with Section 7 of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act.

In a parallel development, the Anti-Terrorism Squad has opened a separate probe into the violence. Police claimed that two accounts on X, which circulated videos alleging fatalities during the protests, were being operated from Pakistan.