The arrest of a 34-year-old left trade union leader, accused of being a member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), has sparked outrage among his colleagues and activists, who criticize government agencies for red-tagging activists.
Aniruddh Rajan, founding member and president of the Delhi NCR-based Marxist trade union, Manesar General Mazdoor Sangh (MGMS), was arrested on Sept 5 by the Central Crime Branch’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) at the Majestic bus station in Bangalore, Karnataka, at 10.30 pm while he was waiting to board a bus to Chennai.
Police allege that Aniruddh acted as a courier, helping to expand the Maoist network in northern India. Additionally, he is accused of organizing underground meetings with sympathizers, raising funds, and recruiting for the party, according to the Deccan Herald.
Police claimed to have recovered a pen drive from him containing documents and Maoist literature. Additionally, an Aadhaar card with the name Vikas Ghatge was allegedly found in his possession.
A source in Bangalore coordinating Aniruddh’s legal help told the Observer Post that the Upparpet Police Station has registered the case under Section 10 of the UAPA (membership in unlawful organizations), Section 66 of the IT Act (cybercrimes), Section 35 of the Aadhaar Act (unauthorized use of Aadhaar information), and Sections 147 (rioting), 152 (assaulting public servants), 336 (endangering safety), and 340 (wrongful restraint) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
He was produced in court on Sept 6 and was remanded to police custody for 14 days. The next court hearing is scheduled for Sept 19.
The source added that some lawyers were sceptical about being red-tagged by the agencies if they took up his case.
Sub-Inspector Sulochana of Upparpet station declined to comment, citing limited knowledge, and referred the reporter to ACP Chickpet. The ACP said the Central Crime Branch is investigating and could not share details due to confidentiality.
Aniruddh, a former chartered accountant who had worked in the corporate sector, was also a financial researcher with the Public Finance Public Accountability Collective (PFPAC), an organization focused on public finance, accountability, and transparency, particularly in relation to marginalized and vulnerable communities.
He later joined the New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI), a federation of independent trade unions in India, before founding MGMS during the lockdown period.
‘Falsely implicated’
According to Bindu Ram, treasurer of the Manesar General Mazdoor Sangh (MGMS), the trade union has been active among workers in IMT Manesar for nearly four years, and neither Aniruddh nor the organization has any connection to the CPI (Maoist).
Speaking to The Observer Post, Bindu stated, “The claim that Anirudh is a Maoist is entirely baseless. He is being falsely implicated, like many other worker leaders who stand up for workers’ rights.”
“The government views anyone raising awareness about the rights of workers, farmers, intellectuals, or lawyers as an enemy.”
“These unfounded charges are intended to silence those fighting for justice and to protect the exploitation by capitalists serving imperialism.”
“His background in chartered accountancy made him keenly aware of corporate exploitation. The situation of workers deteriorated after the COVID-19 lockdown, which deeply affected him. He travelled to industrial areas to investigate and research the problems workers were facing.”
“In IMT Manesar, he saw firsthand the dire conditions faced by both migrant and local workers, many of whom went without wages during the lockdown. Landlords refused to let them stay without paying rent, and they were repeatedly asked to vacate their rooms.”
“Despite the fear and death surrounding the pandemic, Aniruddh continued to work among the workers, offering them help.”
Aniruddh, who was preparing for his Master’s in Sociology from Delhi University, had his article published on Scroll.in in 2017, highlighting how funds meant to tackle climate change were diverted to compensate states following the tax overhaul.
Regarding MGMS, Bindu explained, “After the COVID-19 lockdown, millions of industrial workers struggled with starvation due to job loss, fear of death from the virus, and an inability to pay rent because of unpaid salaries. These hardships led us to act. Aniruddh and I founded MGMS.”
“We tackled issues like the contractor system, low wages, unpaid overtime, and the absence of bonuses. Outside the workplace, we focused on the high cost of rent and rising prices of essential goods.”
“MGMS has also backed anti-contractor protests in unions like Belsonica and Hitachi, advocating for permanent employment and wage hikes for workers.”
Bindu suspects that industrial companies in Manesar may be one of the reasons behind Anirudh’s arrest.
“2-3 years ago, Aniruddh was threatened by private goons hired by Maruti Suzuki, who deceived us by posing as representatives of another company. These goons, along with local police and the village head, gathered information on us and warned that if we continued to mobilize the workers of IMT Manesar, we would be killed.”
“Their aim was to maintain ‘peace’ among the workers, allowing companies to continue their exploitation unchecked”, alleged Bindu.
The organization believes that the government’s crackdown on labour leaders, including those involved in protests against the new labour codes, is connected to the recent actions against trade unions including MGMS.
Vijayan MJ, former employer of Aniruddh, founding member of the Public Finance Public Accountability Collective, and convener of the South Asian Solidarity Collective, dismissed the accusations of Anirudh being an “overground worker” for the CPI (Maoist).
“The need for the state to manufacture narratives of this kind, to trap young rebellious minds like Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, etc is known!”
“This is the latest in that series but with a different narrative! Aniruddh is a bright young man who excels in financial analysis and economic research and was openly working among factory workers through democratic means,” Vijayan told The Observer Post.
Vijayan perceives a larger conspiracy behind the arrest, viewing it as part of an ongoing crackdown on trade unions in central India and attempting to portray Haryana as a new battleground against ‘terrorism’ ahead of the elections.
“The BJP knows they will face defeat in the upcoming Haryana assembly elections. Making lofty promises on development won’t help and relying solely on anti-Muslim propaganda won’t secure votes for BJP,” he added.
“Apart from a communal agenda against Muslims, the BJP government needs scapegoats to paint Haryana as a hub of left-wing extremism in central India. They are creating a sense of a greater security threat by fabricating enemies and villainizing them. For a security state, this is the only hope to win elections.”
“The participation of farmers from Haryana in the protests against the farm bills has also unsettled the state. They are trying to link all these movements to fictional enemies to consolidate votes.”
Vijayan further pointed out that many of the big land grabber corporates who are BJP sponsors have important projects in Haryana, and the rapid growth of militant trade unions and peasant movements in these regions threatens both corporates and BJP.
“If Aniruddh had been a regular factory worker, they would have used other means to silence him. But because of unionism, it’s harder for them to make arrests. Had it happened in Haryana, there would have been an outcry among workers. The anti-Maoist narrative paved the way for his arrest outside Haryana.”
“The narratives surrounding the arrest, built by police, and the extreme silliness surrounding those narratives is how they shape media trials and influence the judiciary.”
“The demonizing is incomplete unless they use a narrative like ‘nabbing an overground Haryana-based Maoist from Bangalore, while he was secretly visiting his girlfriend’. It must be thoroughly exposed and the media must stop reproducing police stories,” Vijayan concluded.
Gautam Mody, General Secretary of the New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI), where Anirudh worked, remembered him as a genuine activist.
“Today, simply putting people in jail has become the punishment, and they are kept in jail without being granted bail, which is something that should not be allowed or tolerated,” Mody told The Observer Post.
“We are living in a very repressive state, and I fear that anything I say will be misused by the state against Anirudh who has been illegally arrested,” said Mody, declining to comment further.
Karnataka-based Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader infamous for hate, advocate Girish Bharadwaj tweeted urging Amit Shah to handover the case to NIA citing a threat to national integrity.
Deepak, a member of the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), where Anirudh is also involved, told The Observer Post that Anirudh has been with CASR since 2018 and regularly participated in campaigns for the release of political prisoners, including Professor GN Saibaba and the Bhima Koregaon detainees.
“The pattern of arrests after making bizarre accusations against trade union leaders and activists in central India is making the fear of the Bhima Koregaon model alive,” said Deepak.
Deepak added, “The recent raids in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi targeted lawyers, students, and peasant leaders, culminating in the arrest of lawyer and anti-displacement activist Ajay Kumar, who was accused of working for the Maoist party to revive the Northern Regional Bureau (NRB).”
“Similarly, Aniruddh’s arrest follows a similar narrative, with media reports alleging that he is expanding the Maoist network in northern India. This pattern suggests a broader strategy to silence human rights defenders working among students, labourers, peasants and masses in North India using a single narrative.”
On September 12, the CASR held a press conference in Delhi, demanding the release of Aniruddh and Advocate Ajay Kumar, who was arrested on Aug 30.
The media was addressed by Prof. Nandita Narain, Advocate Seema Azad, Prof. Saroj Giri, Prof. Sachin N, Advocate Aarti, Advocate Sardha Nand Solanki, and Navsharan Kaur.
