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Agnipath protests: 1 dead, 12 trains set on fire, highways turn into battleground
A man was shot dead in police firing in Telangana's Secunderabad, trains went up in flames, public and private vehicles were attacked, and railway stations and highways turned into battleground in many states on Friday amid burgeoning protests against Agnipath, the contentious defence recruitment scheme.
The 24 year-old Rakesh, an Army aspirant from Dabeerpet village in Warangal district, is the first to person to have died in the violent protests which have swept across the country since Wednesday.
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.
According to Railways, at least 12 trains have been set on fire, 340 have been affected, while 234 were cancelled.
Bihar bears the brunt:
Demonstrators 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.
#WATCH | Bihar: The residence of Deputy CM Renu Devi, in Bettiah, attacked by agitators during their protest against #AgnipathScheme Her son tells ANI, "Our residence in Bettiah was attacked. We suffered a lot of damage. She (Renu Devi) is in Patna." pic.twitter.com/Ow5vhQI5NQ
— ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2022Internet services have been suspended in 12 of Bihar's 38 districts to check the spread of false news, ADG (Law and Order) Sanjay Singh said.
Several students' organisations, including CPI-ML (Liberation)-linked AISA, have called a state-wide bandh in Bihar on Saturday. The opposition Grand Alliance's spearhead RJD has extended support to the bandh.
Section 144 CrPC imposed in UP's Ballia district for next two months
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.
As a result of this, the administration was forced to impose Section 144 in Ballia. "Section 144 CrPC imposed in Ballia district for next two months, following protests against Agnipath scheme & in view of festivals of Eid-ul-Zuha and Moharram," the district administration said in a notification.
Uttar Pradesh | Section 144 CrPC imposed in Ballia district for next two months, following protests against Agnipath scheme & in view of festivals of Eid-ul-Zuha and Moharram: District Administration pic.twitter.com/sYD9Txgq10
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) June 17, 2022Protests also erupted in Varanasi, Firozabad and Amethi, causing damage to government buses and other symbols of public property.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh's commercial capital Indore, Haryana's Narwana and many places in West Bengal and Jharkhand also witnessed protests.
Recruitment process to start soon:
Unfazed by the intensifying protests, the Army, Navy and the Air Force today announced they will start the enrolment process under the new model by next week.
Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari told news agency 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.
(With PTI inputs)