Friend of arrested SRCC student alleges casteist abuse by cops

Noida: A first-year Delhi University law student arrested in connection with the April 13 industrial workers’ unrest in the city received support on Wednesday from student groups and activists, who claimed police had no evidence against him.Yogesh Meena was detained by Noida cops outside Ramjas College on May 30 afternoon while distributing handbills to raise awareness about alleged illegal detention of workers and students supporting Noida factory workers’ demand for higher minimum wages. He was picked up along with another student, Sameer Kumar, who was later released.Kumar told TOI on Wednesday that UP Police officers in plainclothes detained them without stating any reason or showing an arrest warrant.“We were taken from one police station to another and harassed with casteist slurs along the way,” he said. Yogesh belongs to a scheduled tribe community and Kumar to a scheduled caste. Though Kumar was released from Maurice Nagar police station, he filed a complaint with the SHO, with copies to the DCP and Delhi Police commissioner, alleging ill-treatment at the hands of the officers.Meena, an LLB student at Sri Ram College of Commerce and a member of Disha Students’ Organisation, had contested the Delhi University Students’ Union presidential election last year. From Jaipur, he has allegedly been estranged from his family over differences. His batchmate Rauf Sidiq, an artist who has participated in cultural activities with Yogesh, said his parents wanted him to build a career and find employment. “When Yogesh continued with his activism and support for the poor and downtrodden, his parents made efforts to stop him, because of which he kept away from the family,” Sidiq said.Yogesh was arrested under BNS sections 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 109(1) (attempt to murder), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), and 326(g) (mischief by fire or explosive substance). Police have claimed he played a key role in planning and amplifying the protest through social media networks.The special investigation team (SIT) that is probing incidents of arson and vandalism during the protest says it has substantial digital evidence and communication records, including conversations from the day of the violence, establishing frequent contact between Yogesh and Anil Kumar (32), who was arrested last month under BNS sections 109(1) (attempt to murder), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) and 326(G) (mischief) for allegedly sharing incendiary content on a WhatsApp group linked to workers of Richa Global Noida.Activists, however, said Yogesh’s only substantive interaction with him was a phone call made after Anil circulated a voice note asking protesters to block a road. “He posted messages in the group urging workers to remain peaceful and avoid vandalism,” Campaign for the Release of Workers and Activists of Noida (CaRWAN) said in a statement. The group demanded police release Yogesh’s call detail records to establish he was complicit in inciting violence.CaRWAN also rejected police’s claim of a criminal conspiracy, arguing that the ties among arrested activists and students stemmed from membership of the same student organisation and did not constitute criminal activity.