In Noida protest case, Aakriti arrested before violence erupted:Lawyer says police yet to show proof of alleged ₹1 crore transaction

On April 13, 2026, a violent protest by workers took place in Noida, UP. In this case, NSA has been imposed on journalist Satyam Verma from Lucknow and activist Aakriti Chaudhary from Noida. They have been accused of inciting workers on social media and foreign funding. However, there appear to be several gaps in the entire story that UP Police has presented. 4 things that are bothering us about this police theory: 1. If Aakriti was arrested from the metro station on April 11 itself, then how did she incite violence on April 13? 2. Police took Satyam Verma from Lucknow on April 17, but the arrest was shown on April 19. Satyam was not in Noida. He was in contact with the police and had even removed the article at their request. 3. Police have issued a press note claiming that Satyam received funding of 1 crore rupees from abroad, why hasn’t the police presented evidence related to this in court. 4. Why was there a delay in the FIR, why were multiple FIRs registered in the same case. Now read how these arrests happened and why questions were raised
Scene-1
Date- April 10
Place- Janchetna Publication House, Lucknow 65-year-old Satyam Verma was working in the office. Just then Hasanganj police arrived there and asked him to delete an article. Satyam is a journalist and activist. He works for workers’ rights. His article was published in the Mazdoor Bigul newspaper. A workers’ protest had been ongoing in Noida since April 9. The police feared that this article could worsen the situation. Satyam accepted the police’s request and removed the article. About 7 days later, Hasanganj police again reached the publication house. They took Satyam Verma and his colleague Katyayani Sinha with them for questioning. Then on May 19, both were arrested. Why was evidence of 1 crore transaction not presented in court Satyam Verma’s lawyer Ali Zia Kabir Chaudhary claims that he has only learned about the NSA being imposed through the police media cell so far. He says, ‘We have not received any documents related to this. Whereas legally, the police should present the papers in court and inform the defense lawyer, but nothing like that has been done.’ On the allegations of foreign funding, Kabir says, ‘Satyam’s family has denied receiving 1 crore from foreign accounts. He works as a translator, so it’s possible that payment came from a foreign publication. The family has stated that they are only aware of transactions up to ₹30,000. As for the alleged foreign funding of ₹1 crore, the police have yet to present any evidence before the court. He further states, “The chat that the police have submitted as evidence in court belongs to the Bigul group. It includes several other journalists who work at the same publication. In it, Verma was discussing the Noida labour protest with his colleagues. Can journalists not speak to one another about such matters — does having a conversation amount to inciting violence?”
Scene-2
Date- 11 April
Place- Botanical Garden Metro Station, Noida On April 11, there was another arrest. This arrest was made by the police two days before the Noida protest turned violent. From here, former Delhi University student Aakriti Chaudhary was arrested. The police alleged that she was associated with the ‘Mazdoor Bigul Dasta’ organization. Noida police reportedly arrived at the metro station in plain clothes. Aakriti was at that time with a factory worker Manisha and software engineer Adit Anand. Aakriti’s friend Priyanvada says, ‘Throughout the protest, Aakriti kept appealing to the workers to hold peaceful and non-violent demonstrations. There is a video of this too. She is being accused of inciting violence. Aakriti was not only good in studies, she has been vocal about issues happening in the country and the world. She considers Bhagat Singh as her ideal.’ Meanwhile, her colleague Chiranshu said, “We all kept trying to call Aakriti continuously from 12 April, but her phone remained switched off. It was only later that we learnt she had been arrested.” Arrested two days before the violence — so how did she incite it? Defence lawyer Kabir also argues that if the police had already arrested Aakriti on 11 April, how could she possibly have incited violence on 13 April? He further states that every time a bail application is filed, the police add new sections to the case, causing repeated delays in the hearing. The NSA has also been invoked to ensure that neither accused is granted bail, keeping them imprisoned for as long as possible. To discuss the allegations made by defence lawyer Kabir and to obtain details of the investigation, we contacted Noida’s Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Rajeev Narayan Mishra, however, we were unable to reach him. He did not respond to our calls or WhatsApp messages. Should a response be received, it will be included in the report.