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New Delhi: A court in Gautam Buddha Nagar has granted bail to Anil Kumar, a driver who had been implicated in connection with the Noida labour movement case. The development has raised fresh questions about the basis of arrests made by the Uttar Pradesh police in the matter. 

On June 3, additional sessions court judge Sandeep Chaudhary directed Kumar to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000, along with a surety of the same amount. The court observed that although the case diary mentions his participation in a WhatsApp group, including alleged circulation of audio messages, no specific evidence directly linking him to the violent incidents has been presented.

The order also highlighted that Kumar, who had been in jail since May 20, was not named in the original first information report (FIR), while three other co-accused in the case had already been granted bail.

The Wire Hindi had previously reported that the Uttar Pradesh police have arrested Yogesh Meena, a 23-year-old student pursuing an LLB programme at Delhi University’s Faculty of Law, in connection with the protests. Police statements suggested that Yogesh’s involvement in the case was based on his purported ties to Kumar, who has now been let go.

Screengrab from “Richa Global (Noida)” WhatsApp group displaying Kumar’s messages. 

Activists had accused Kumar of attempting to derail the protests

Kumar’s name first surfaced in April, when he was found to have participated in a WhatsApp group formed during the workers’ protest against the Noida-based firm, Richa Global. Several activists subsequently alleged that Kumar and a sub-inspector of the UP police, Bina Kaur, had infiltrated the workers’ social media groups to derail and provoke the protests. These allegations formed the basis of petitions submitted before the Supreme Court by arrested activists and were also raised at press conferences. 

The Wire had confirmed that Kumar sent a voice note to the “Richa Global (Noida)” WhatsApp group on April 13, saying, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming to inaugurate the bypass; the entire road should be blocked tomorrow.” Kumar told The Wire that he worked as a contractual driver for the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and had previously been........

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