One person was killed and three others injured in the police firing on youths protesting at the Secunderabad railway station in Telangana against the Central Government’s ‘Agnipath’ scheme for recruitment in armed forces, even as violent protests continued across Bihar and Utter Pradesh on Friday.
Police opened fire after the protesters went on a rampage at the Secunderabad railway station setting afire two trains and vandalising the station. The injured were admitted to Gandhi Hospital.The situation continued to be tense as a large number of protesters remained in the station and on the tracks. The protesters were pelting the police with stones while the latter were retaliating with firing of rubber bullets and teargas shells.
The Railway Protection Force, Government Railway Police and city police were trying to bring the situation under control.
Violent protests over the ‘Agnipath’ scheme continued across Bihar for the third day as agitators disrupted rail and road traffic and set the Bhagalpur-New Delhi Vikramshila Express and Jammu Tawi-Guwahati Express trains on fire.
Several organisations have given a 72-hour ultimatum to the Modi Government to withdraw the Agnipath scheme or else they will intensify the agitation and call for Bharat Bandh.
Raju Yadav, the convener of Army Recruitment personnel Morcha; Manoj Manjil, Left party MLA from the Agiyaon Assembly constituency and national president of INAUS, Sandeep Saurav, MLA of Paliganj and secretary of AISA Bihar unit; Ajit Kushwaha, MLA of Dumraon; Aftab Alam, Vikas Yadav and many others related to AISA (All India Students Association) and INAUS have given the ultimatum to the Central government to withdraw the Agnipath scheme.
The agitation by the students and job aspirants continued in almost all the districts of Bihar.
In Lakhisarai, the agitating students set the Bhagalpur-New Delhi Vikramshila Express on fire as soon as the train arrived at the platform. The agitated youths asked the passengers to come out from the trains and then set the train afire.
In Begusarai, the agitated students set the Lakhminia railway station on fire. They burnt down the ticket booking counter and the waiting area. The office properties and documents were completely gutted in the fire.
In Bhojpur, the agitated students set the Bihiya railway station on fire.
In Samastipur, the agitators set two coaches of the Jammu Tawi-Guwahati Express on fire in the Mohiuddinnagar railway station located on Hajipur-Barauni railway section.
In Khagaria, the agitated mob stopped the Purnea-Ranchi Kosi Express at the Mansi railway station and demanded the rollback of the Agnipath scheme.
The students are sitting on tracks at several places in Bihar and they are not ready to go home. Many of them claimed that the Agnipath scheme was suicidal for youths if they join the Army under this scheme.
“An Army jawan becomes trained in at least a year’s time and it takes 5 to 6 years for the jawan to perform duty on the border posts. Under the Agnipath scheme, there is a provision of six months training and deployment anywhere in the country, including on the borders connected to Pakistan and China. Partially skilled jawans cannot survive on the border. It would not only be suicidal for the jawans and also to the entire post,” said Raj Kishore Singh, a job aspirant who has been preparing for army examination for the last 5 years.
In UP, protesters set empty train on fire, vandalise railway station
Raising slogans ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Agnipath Vapas Lo’, youths protesting against the Centre’s new scheme to recruit soldiers on Friday set an empty train on fire and vandalised a few other trains here, prompting the police to lathicharge them.
Police sources said that the protesters gathered at the Veeri Lork Stadium here and then marched to the Ballia railway station.
A video of the youths raising the slogans and vandalising the Ballia-Varanasi Memu and Ballia-Shahganj trains has gone viral.
They also allegedly pelted stones near the railway godown and targeted private shops at the railway station platform.
District Magistrate Saumya Agarwal said, “Considering the possibility of youths protesting, police was deployed from the morning itself. Some unruly youths came and tried to pelt stones, but the administration did not allow them to succeed. One portion of Ballia railway station was vandalised. Action is being taken against the unruly elements.”
Superintendent of Police Raj Karan Nayyar said that the youths are being persuaded to call off the protest and sent back.
“The incident has been videographed. So far, no arrests have been made,” he said.
Protests have erupted in several states since Wednesday against the Agnipath scheme to recruit jawans into the Army, the Navy and the Air Force for a four-year-period followed by compulsory retirement for most without gratuity and pension benefits. Agencies
15:43 17 JunProtests against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme continued on Friday as scores of youngsters descended on Yamuna Expressway and blocked traffic movement briefly, officials said. The movement through Jewar toll plaza between Greater Noida and Mathura-Agra was blocked for around an hour from 12 pm, the officials said.
15:15 17 JunProtests against the ‘Agnipath' scheme of recruitment in armed forces grew more virulent on Friday in Bihar, where a mob attacked the house of Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi, besides causing heavy damage to railway property and affecting normal life in a number of districts.
15:10 17 JunHyderabad Metro Rail and MMTS train services were suspended in Hyderabad following anti-Agnipath violence at Secunderabad railway station on Friday. In view of the tense situation and continued protest at the railway station, Hyderabad Metro Rail suspended services on all three routes till further notice.
15:10 17 JunOver 200 trains have been affected so far due to the protests against the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the armed forces, the Railways said Friday. Around 35 trains have been cancelled while 13 short-terminated since the protests erupted on Wednesday, the national carrier said.
15:10 17 JunEntry and exit gates of some Delhi Metro stations were closed on Friday as members of the Left-affiliated All India Students' Association protested against the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the armed forces and demanded its rollback. In a series of tweets, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation alerted commuters about the closure of gates of stations due to "security reasons".
15:10 17 JunIn the wake of protests against the Centre's Agnipath scheme, the Gurugram district administration on Friday imposed Section 144 CrPC as a precautionary measure to maintain law & order.
15:08 17 JunProtests against the Centre's Agnipath scheme spread to Odisha on Friday as hundreds of aspirants for recruitment in the Armed Forces blocked the arterial Ring Road in Cuttack and tore down hoardings in Cantonment area of the silver city.
