Vikramshila Express train set on fire by a mob in protest against the Centres Agnipath scheme, in Lakhisarai, on Friday. PTI Photo
New Delhi/Secunderabad/Patna, June 17
A man was shot dead in police firing in Telangana's Secunderabad, trains went up in flames, and public and private vehicles attacked, as railway stations and highways turned into battleground in many states on Friday amid burgeoning protests against Agnipath, the contentious defence recruitment scheme.
Assurances by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and the Army chief failed to cut ice with hordes of angry youth, carrying bamboo sticks and stones, storming railway premises across cities and small towns and laying siege to highways, creating a security scare.
Over 300 trains have been affected and more than 200 cancelled so far due to the protests, the Railways said, reflecting the enormity of the agitation.
Coaches of seven trains have so far been set ablaze by protesters, officials said, adding carriages of three running trains in the East Central Railway (ECR), headquartered in Bihar's Hajipur, and one empty rake in Kulharia, also in the same zone, were damaged by protestors. One coach of a train was also damaged in the washing line at Uttar Pradesh's Ballia. So far, 64 trains were short terminated in ECR.
As the depredations against the recruitment scheme continued for the third day across large parts of India, from Uttar Pradesh to Telangana and Bihar to Madhya Pradesh, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and Army chief Gen Manoj Pande tried to assuage the concerns of the agitators with little success.
The Army chief said the government's Thursday night decision to raise the upper age limit to 23 years from 21 under the scheme in 2022 will provide an opportunity to youths who were preparing to join the force but couldn't in the last two years.
The Centre's decision to increase the upper age limit will benefit a large number of youth, Shah said. He added that the recruitment process in the Army had been affected for the last two years due to the Covid pandemic and Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a sensitive decision by showing concern for the youth of the country.
"I heartily thank Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi for his concern and sensitivity towards the future of the youths. I appeal to the youth that the process of recruitment in the army is going to start in a few days. They start their preparation for it," Rajnath Singh tweeted, calling the scheme a "golden opportunity" for the youth.
But the protests spread, seemingly uncontrolled, with crowds squatting on tracks and highways, pelting trains and buses with stones, toppling vending kiosks at train stations and burning used tyres on tracks.
Fiery orange flames leapt out of the windows of trains at Secunderabad, and Lakhisarai and Samastipur in Bihar, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the sky that could be seen from several kilometres away.
Broken tubelights, benches and stones littered several railway stations across the country. Policemen in anti-riot gear were seen chasing away the protesters, hundreds of whom were rounded up.
Demonstrators also blocked highways at several places in Buxar, Bhagalpur and Samastipur with burnt tyres.
Besides targeting railway properties, the protesters attacked the house of Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi and the car of a BJP MLA in Bihar. State BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal's residence in Bettiah town was also vandalised but the leader claimed the attackers were not job aspirants.
One person was fatally injured when Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel fired to disperse the rampaging protesters at Secunderabad station. The injured are being treated in the state-run Gandhi Hospital.
The scenes of chaos unfolded in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia, where the agitators shouting “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Agnipath Vapas Lo” set an empty train on fire and vandalised a few other trains, provoking a baton charge.
Protests also erupted in Varanasi, Firozabad and Amethi, causing damage to government buses and other symbols of public property.
Dharmendra Singh, younger brother of Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister and Ballia MLA Daya Shankar Singh, said unruly elements threw stones at the camp office of the minister and also damaged a hoarding put at the office gate.
Madhya Pradesh's commercial capital Indore, Haryana's Narwana and many places in West Bengal and Jharkhand witnessed protests.
Following the violent protests in Palwal, the Haryana government has suspended mobile internet and SMS services for 24 hours in Ballabhgarh area of Faridabad district as a precautionary measure. Protests also broke out in Hisar, Fatehabad and Jhajjar in Haryana.
The national capital was relatively quiet but Metro travel was disrupted with members of the Left-affiliated All India Students' Association staging demonstrations. The entry and exit gates of some Delhi Metro stations had to be closed.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) made a fresh plea to the Centre for an immediate review of the ‘Agnipath' scheme, and to assure protesting youngsters that their future will not be adversely affected by the new policy.
“The announcement of ‘Agnipath' scheme by the Centre has triggered resentment among youths of Bihar and other parts of the country. The Centre should, therefore, think of an immediate review (‘avilamb punarvichar') of the scheme. If that is not possible, it must assure the youngsters that the scheme is not going to adversely affect their future,” JD(U) national president and MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh said.
While the government defended the scheme, saying it will secure the future of youths and help maintain a youthful profile of the armed forces, opposition leaders maintained it would adversely impact the functioning of the armed forces.
"Agnipath - youth rejected. Farm laws - farmers rejected. Noteban - economists rejected. GST - traders rejected. "The prime minister does not understand what the people of the country want, as he cannot hear anything except the voice of his 'friends'," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi, mounting an acerbic attack on the Modi government.
BJP leaders, however, lauded the government's decision to raise the upper age limit for recruitment under the Agnipath scheme to 23 years from 21 for this year, with party chief JP Nadda saying it shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi is fully seized of the concerns of the country's youth and is making efforts for their bright future.
Unfazed by the intensifying protests, the Army, Navy and the Air Force on Friday announced they will start the enrolment process under the new model by next week.
Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari told PTI that the selection process by the Indian Air Force for recruitment under the new scheme will start from June 24, while the Army said it will begin the initial exercise within two days.
The Indian Navy said it will start the recruitment process "very soon". A senior naval commander said the notification for the recruitment will be out within a week.
The three services are planning to deploy the first batches of recruits under the new scheme, both in operational and non-operational roles, by June next year, senior military officials said.
Vikramshila Express train set on fire by a mob in protest against the Centres Agnipath scheme, in Lakhisarai, on Friday. Photo
19:38 17 Jun
Over 300 trains have been affected and more than 200 cancelled so far due to protests against the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the defence services, the Railways said on Friday. It said that 94 mail and express trains and 140 passenger trains have been cancelled due to the protests, while 65 mail and express and 30 passenger trains were partially cancelled. The Railways has also diverted 11 mail and express trains. The total number of trains affected so far stands at 340, officials said.
19:18 17 Jun
Activists from various student organisations hit the streets in New Delhi on Friday to protest against the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme, leading to closure of gates at some metro stations and keeping police on their toes. The Delhi Police said no permission was granted to these groups to stage demonstrations.
19:03 17 Jun
Several organisations, including the Sanyukt Rojgaar Andolan Samiti and the Desh Ki Baat Foundation, will stage a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi against the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme on Monday, Delhi minister Gopal Rai said.
19:02 17 Jun
Protests over the Centre's Agnipath defence recruitment scheme turned violent in Madhya Pradesh's Indore on Friday morning after hundreds of protesters gathered on tracks near a railway station and hurled stones and blocked a road, forcing the authorities to either stop or cancel some trains and prompting the police to lob teargas shells to control the situation, officials said. Two policemen suffered minor injuries in stone pelting, while nearly 15 protesters were arrested, they said.
16:54 17 Jun
Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal's residence in Bettiah town was vandalised on Friday during protests against the Agnipath army recruitment scheme, the second such incident of attack on senior party leaders' houses in the state during the day.
15:43 17 Jun
Protests 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 Jun
Protests 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 Jun
Hyderabad 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 Jun
Over 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 Jun
Entry 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 Jun
In 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 Jun
Protests 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.
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