Industrial unrest over minimum wages swept across parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) in April, beginning in Manesar before spreading days later to Noida. In both industrial belts, protests over stagnant pay and increased cooking gas costs escalated into violence, followed swiftly by government-announced wage hikes.

But alongside the wage concessions came another response: conspiracy cases and the search for “masterminds”.

While the Noida unrest drew national headlines, six men arrested in Haryana's Manesar violence case have received far less attention. Police say they used WhatsApp to incite rioting, arson and attacks on specific individuals. Families of the accused deny this, alleging that known labour activists are being targeted. A judicial magistrate has already flagged that mandatory arrest procedures may have been violated — and ordered an inquiry.

The case is also widening beyond Haryana. On April 27, a Gurugram court issued a production warrant for Aaditya Anand, described by police as one of the key conspirators in the separate Noida unrest, in connection with the Manesar FIR — a move that appears to stitch the two protests into a single conspiracy narrative.

Newslaundry spoke to the families of five of the six men named as conspirators. 

The unrest began in Industrial Model Township (IMT) Manesar, where workers at Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India began mobilising on April 3. Following this, protests broke out across several companies, including textile exporters Richa Global and Modelama Exports.

On April 9, the protests turned violent with stone-pelting and arson taking place in the region. Reports of lathi charge, tear gas firing, and arrests followed.

Two main FIRs were registered in Manesar — FIR 94 and FIR 95.

According to FIR 94, filed on the complaint of Ramveer Singh, AGM (HR) at Richa Global Exports Pvt Ltd, workers at three company units in IMT Manesar had been protesting outside factory gates for three to four days over wage demands. 

The complaint states that on April 9, around 200–250 workers gathered outside the company's Sector 7 unit, which allegedly turned violent at around 10:30 am — pelting stones at management and police personnel, setting vehicles on fire, vandalising property, and attacking officials “with the intention to kill”.

Police said repeated announcements were made ordering the crowd to disperse, after which “mild force” was used to clear the area. The FIR says the violence also spread to two other Richa Global units in Sector 4 and Plot No. 11, where machinery and parked vehicles were allegedly damaged. It records injuries to two women employees and damage to several private and police vehicles. Along with rioting, unlawful assembly and other offences, the case invokes BNS Section 109(1) — attempt to murder. 

The complaint further alleges that protesting workers were instigated by organisations including Inquilabi Mazdoor Kendra and the Automobile Industrial Contract Worker Union.

The six people named in FIR 94 include: Akash Kumar (Rohtak), Harish Chand (Uttarakhand), Pintu Kumar Yadav (Bihar), Raju Singh (Uttarakhand), Shyambir (Uttar Pradesh), and Ajit Singh (Haryana).

FIR 95, filed on the complaint of Suresh Kumar, senior manager (HR) at Modelama Exports, similarly alleges that unidentified protesters turned violent at the company's Sector 4 unit on April 9, pelting stones and damaging property. 

Families of the six accused in FIR 94, however, tell a different story.

‘The only thing dangerous about him is his ideas’

Amit (33), Ajit Singh's younger brother, said Ajit (37) began as an apprentice at Maruti in 2009 before later joining Bellsonica Auto Component India Pvt Ltd.

“In 2014, when he tried forming a union there, he was fired. Later, when the union was recognised, he was taken back. But in 2023, when they began granting union membership to contractual workers, the union's number was revoked, and he was fired again. Since then, he and about 50 more workers have been fighting their case in the labour court,” Amit explained.

As for how Ajit has been managing expenses since losing his job, Amit said: “We are four brothers from Jind with Ajit being the eldest. Back home, we have a farm, some cattle, and I also work as a motor mechanic in Gurugram. Another brother runs a computer centre helping people with money transfer.” He added that management had even tried to persuade Ajit to abandon union work and focus on his children. “He refused and said that he would take care of all 700 kids of the company's workers.”

Ajit's wife, Monica (35), who lives with........

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