Key Points
UP Police have invoked the National Security Act against journalist Satyam Verma and student activist Aakriti Choudhary over the April workers’ protest in Noida.
Police alleged the two played a “significant role” in inciting violence and claimed Verma received over ₹1 crore from foreign countries, an allegation denied by his lawyers.
Civil rights groups, lawyers and families of the accused have called the NSA action an attempt to prolong detention despite lack of evidence.
Uttar Pradesh Police on 13 May 2026 invoked the National Security Act (NSA) against journalist Satyam Verma and student activist Aakriti Choudhary in connection with the April 2026 workers’ protest in Noida. On 15 May 2026, they further allege that over ₹1 crore in foreign funds were used to organise the agitation.
The move comes a month after factory workers across Noida launched demonstrations demanding higher wages and improved working conditions. The protests, which began on 10 April 2026, turned violent on 13 April, with incidents of arson, vandalism and stone pelting reported across industrial sectors in the city.
Police said more than 40,000 workers had gathered across over 80 locations during the agitation. Authorities alleged that protesters vandalised more than 100 factories and set several vehicles on fire. Hundreds were attempted across dozens of criminal cases.
In a statement issued on 14 May 2026, the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police said Verma and Choudhary, both linked by police to the workers’ organisation Mazdoor Bigul Dasta, had played a “significant role” in “violence, arson and spread of disorder” during the protests.
Police officials said CCTV footage, electronic evidence, social media activity and intelligence reports linked the accused to efforts to mobilise crowds and spread provocative messages. Authorities also described them as “outsiders” who allegedly sought to exploit the labour unrest to disturb law and order.
“Consequently, action has been initiated against both accused persons under the National Security Act,” the police said in a statement. The two have been accused of criminal conspiracy, attempted murder and endangering public safety. The NSA allows preventive detention without trial for up to one year.
On 15 May 2026, the police further claimed that more than ₹1 crore had been transferred into Verma’s bank accounts from foreign countries in dollars, pounds and euros. Investigators alleged that the money was later transferred across multiple personal accounts and that organisations linked to Verma were under scrutiny.
Verma, a Lucknow based journalist and translator associated with Janchetna Books, Jagaruk Nagrik Manch and the labour publication Mazdoor Bigul, was arrested in April 2026 from Lucknow. His associates and lawyers, however, said he was not present in Noida during the protests and had not visited the city in over a decade.
Choudhary, a 25-year-old Delhi University history graduate and theatre activist preparing for a PhD, was detained on 11 April 2026 from Botanical Garden Metro Station in Noida, two days before the violence broke out. Her father Arun Chaudhary questioned how she could be accused of orchestrating violence that took place after her detention.
“If the police are targeting certain ideologies, I myself hold some of them. What is wrong with having them? I’m proud that my daughter was raising her voice for workers’ rights,” he said. “She’s still bold, and whenever we meet her in jail, she tells me not to lose hope. There is such heavy police deployment whenever I meet her, as if our children are terrorists.”
Verma’s lawyer Ali Zia Kabir rejected the allegations of international funding, calling them fabricated and politically motivated.
“The allegation is completely baseless. My client does not have ₹1 crore in his bank account,” Kabir said, adding that Verma earned money through freelance translation work for companies including Google and Meta.
“If this was true, why has UP Police not presented any such evidence during hearings? Their earlier story about Satyam’s role in a criminal conspiracy has collapsed in court. Now, they are creating a new fictitious story of financial manipulation,” he said.
Lawyers representing the accused said no formal documents supporting the NSA invocation had yet been provided in court. Verma’s wife has also filed a habeas corpus petition before the Allahabad High Court challenging the legality of his arrest and detention.
Civil rights groups, student organisations and journalists’ bodies have condemned the use of the NSA. The Delhi Union of Journalists called the move another attack on independent journalism and press freedom. Meanwhile, protests demanding release of the detained were held at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on 14 May 2026 under the banner of the Campaign for the Release of Workers and Activists of Noida (CaRWAN).
“It is a blatant move by the UP government and police who don’t have a shred of real evidence against the accused,” CaRWAN said in a statement. “They are resorting to using NSA to ensure the accused don’t get bail for an extended period of time without having to show any evidence or even file a chargesheet.”
[DS]
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