By Newzfirst Correspondent2/28/13

New Delhi – Activists of labour organizations Thursday accused Noida police of illegally detaining seven persons and harassing them on the directions of factory-owners.

Police picked Naveen Prakash and his employee Raju Wednesday evening without stating any reason. Four persons who went to enquire the reasons were also locked up by the Police, said Satyam Verma, a leader of Bigul Mazdoor Dasta.

Naveen Prakash, who runs a DTP centre at Ghaziabad, was active in workers’ union.

After detaining them, Police made Naveen to call his friend Tapish Maindola, an activist of the Bigul Mazdoor Dasta and locked-up him too, he said.

Police took all the three without informing anybody and where they are being taken to, he said.

According to latest updates, four persons- Gyanedar, Pramod, Gajendra and Sunny- who approached police station to know the whereabouts and the reason for the detention were also detained by the Police.

The police has so far neither lodged an FIR nor charged them of any offence. Activists alleged that Police is contemplating to charge them under NSA for allegedly instigating the workers for violence.

According to the Police, they are taken into custody for suspicious activities and are being interrogated.

Bigul Mazdoor Dasta has been holding street corner meetings in different parts of Noida and distributing a leaflet since February 23.

The leaflet says that the incidents of sporadic violence during the two-day strike were only a reflection of the deep set anger and frustration in the millions of workers in Noida who were being denied even basic rights. It points out that such anarchic explosions of anger are no solutions to the problem and workers must organise themselves in revolutionary unions and political organisations to wage an organised struggle against capitalist exploitation and the state machinery hand-in-glove with the exploiters.

“It is obvious that the police, as always, are working like henchmen of the factory-owners of Noida. Bigul Mazdoor Dasta has been targeted several times before by the Noida police at the behest of the factory owners who trample even basic labour laws under their feet and rush to smother every voice of protest. It should be recalled that the factory-owners’ associations have been clamouring to book the workers under NSA for the incidents of 21-22 February.” the statement released by the activists reads.