Tailor accused of arson during Noida labour unrest arrested

A tailor, accused of allegedly setting vehicles on fire during the labour unrest in Noida on April 13, has been arrested, police said on Saturday.

The Gautam Buddh Nagar Police alleged that Naresh Kumar (45) entered the Mahavira Company premises in Sector 63 on the day of the incident and incited workers to go on strike before joining sloganeering outside the factory.

Thereafter, he allegedly moved towards the area near Vipul Motors in Sector 63, where a crowd had gathered, and along with his associates set fire to several parked four-wheelers and two-wheelers.

''The accused and his associates committed arson in a premeditated manner and also damaged vehicles using iron pipes,'' the police statement said.

Kumar, a resident of Fatehpur currently living in Noida's Chotpur area, was employed as a tailor at Mahavira Company in Sector 63, police said.

According to the statement, large groups of labourers and workers had gathered across several sectors under the commissionerate on April 13 and allegedly indulged in vandalism and arson, leading to deterioration of law and order. Multiple FIRs were registered in connection with the incidents.

Police said Kumar was identified and arrested on the basis of scientific and electronic evidence collected during the investigation.

During interrogation, it also emerged that Kumar had earlier been present during labour agitations in Manesar in Haryana, police said, adding that records related to labour unions were recovered from his mobile phone.

Police further said the accused had ported his mobile SIM card to another service provider in an attempt to evade arrest. The SIM card has since been recovered.

Meanwhile, police also clarified claims circulating on social media regarding another accused, Anil Kumar, who was arrested on Thursday by Phase Two police station.

According to police, misleading posts and videos on social media alleged that Anil Kumar was a government employee working as a driver for a deputy commissioner of police in Uttar Pradesh Police.

''Fact-checking revealed that Anil Kumar is not a government employee and has never worked as a driver for any police officer. He is a private driver,'' police said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)