Trains set on fire, stones pelted, roads blocked, 40 trains cancelled as angry protesters run amok
Protests erupted in several States, including Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Delhi, and Jammu on Thursday against the new recruitment policy “Agnipath”. Protesters set train coaches on fire, blocked highways, and indulged in stone-pelting and violence. They also attacked a BJP MLA in Bihar.
Neraly 40 trains were canceled in Bihar due to unrest. The Haryana Government suspended internet services in Palwal as protests against “Agnipath” took a violent course on Thursday. Haryana Police personnel who were deployed at the residence of Palwal’s Deputy Commissioner Krishna Kumar fired in the air to warn protesters.
The Government unveiled the “Agnipath” scheme on Tuesday for recruiting jawans called “Agniveers” for a four-year tenure on a contractual basis in the armed forces. The recruitment process will start after 90 days from the date of the rollout of the policy on Tuesday. More than 46,000 jawans will be recruited in the first phase which will complete by July next year.
Also, all recruitments will now be done through the “Agnipath” route. The recruitment process was put on hold for the last two years due to the corona pandemic.
Reports from Patna said trains were set afire, window panes of buses smashed, and a ruling BJP MLA pelted with stones in Bihar by Army job aspirants.
Police fired teargas shells and charged batons to disperse the crowd of angry youngsters who blocked railway tracks, threw burning tyres on roads, and performed push-ups and other drills on the streets as a mark of protest against the new recruitment process in the military, under which hiring has been proposed for a four-year-period followed by compulsory retirement for at least 75 per cent of the recruits without any pension benefits.
In Nawada, the vehicle of BJP MLA Aruna Devi, who was on her way to a court, was attacked by the agitators who hurled stones at her car, leaving five persons, including the legislator, injured.
“The protesters seemed to have been provoked by the sight of the party flag, fitted on my car, which they tore. My driver, two security guards, and two personal staff members have sustained injuries,” the MLA told reporters. Protesters also attacked and set fire to the Nawada BJP district office.
Railway property bore the brunt of the protesters as stationary bogies were set on fire at Bhabhua and Chhapra stations and window panes of compartments smashed at many places. In Arrah, the railway station swarmed with a large number of protesters who were dispersed after the police fired teargas shells.
The East Central Railway zone, headquartered in Hajipur, reported a massive disruption of rail traffic. Busy routes like Patna-Gaya, Barauni-Katihar and Danapur-DDU were listed among those worst affected by the stir, the officials said.
In Buxar, station manager Rajan Kumar said many trains were stranded at the outer signal as the tracks were blocked by the agitators whom the police and the administrative officials were trying to pacify.
Demonstrations staged by the protesters disrupted road traffic in the districts such as Jehanabad, Buxar, Katihar, Saran, Bhojpur, and Kaimur, where many locals sustained injuries in the incidents of stone-pelting, the officials said.
In Gurugram, scores of youth took to the streets in Bilaspur and Sidhrawali areas of Gurugram and Rewari, some 50 km away, against the “Agnipath” scheme.
The protesters laid a virtual siege to bus stands and roads, crippling traffic on the Gurugram-Jaipur highway and held a protest at Bilaspur Chowk.
“Due to a local protest, the traffic is diverted at Bilaspur Chowk (NH-48). All commuters using this route are requested to take alternative routes,” Gurugram traffic police said in an advisory.
“Our traffic officials are on the job and ensuring that there is no major congestion. Diversions have been made as and where required,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ravinder Singh Tomar said.
Ex-serviceman and senior Congress leader Captain Ajay Yadav in a statement said the scheme is aimed to demean the spirit of forces and cut down on benefits being given to army jawans.
“Army is not a profession but passion and life. Our districts like Rewari send their sons to serve the nation every year and this demeans their passion. Over four lakh posts are vacant in the army and this cheap attempt to compensate them with small contract employment is unacceptable,” Yadav said.
The Haryana Government suspended internet services in Palwal as protests against the “Agnipath” scheme took a violent course.
In Rajasthan, scores of defence job aspirants led by the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) staged protests in several parts of Rajasthan on Thursday against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme. Job aspirants and RLP activists took out protest rallies in Jodhpur, Sikar, Jaipur, Nagaur, Ajmer and Jhunjhunu districts and raised slogans against the Central Government.
In Jaipur, a large number of youths demonstrated at the district collectorate and raised slogans against the scheme and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. RLP national convener and MP Hanuman Beniwal participated in the protest here. Additional police forces were deployed at these protest centres, a senior police officer said.
The RLP was an ally of the NDA Government at the Centre and broke its ties after three farm laws were passed by the Centre. However, the party recently supported an independent candidate backed by the BJP in the Rajya Sabha polls.
In Uttar Pradesh, protestors blocked the GT road in Bulandshahr and raised slogans demanding the withdrawal of the scheme which allows short-term recruitment in the armed forces.
The district officials had a tough time in persuading the protesters to call off the blockade. The protesters submitted a memorandum to the district magistrate.
Meanwhile, 34 trains were cancelled and eight more were partially cancelled due to the anti-Agnipath protests and delays in the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) exams, railway sources said. They said 72 trains were also running late due to the agitation.
At Nangloi in the national Capital, protesters blocked the railway track and raised slogans against the scheme.