1 killed; protesters attack Bihar Dy CM house, set 12 trains ablaze, block roads
Protests against Agnipath scheme intensified on Friday with the agitation spreading to southern States, and protesters setting 12 trains on fire across the country till now. One person was killed in police firing in Secunderabad in Telangana. Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh witnessed violent protests. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi’s house was attacked in Bettiah.
The Bihar and Haryana Governments suspended internet and mobile telephone services in many districts following the Agnipath protests.
In Bihar, internet and telecom services will remain suspended till June 19 in Kaimur, Bhojpur, Aurangabad, Rohtas, Buxar, Nawada, West Champaran, Samastipur, Lakhisarai, Begusarai, Vaishali and Saran. The RJD has called for Bihar bandh on Saturday to protest the Agnipath scheme.
Over 80 Express and 134 passenger trains have been cancelled and 61 Express and 30 passenger trains have been partially cancelled as protests over the Agnipath recruitment scheme continue across the country. At least 11 Express trains have been diverted.
Telangana police resorted to aerial firing to disperse the angry crowd at the Secunderabad railway station as protests escalated into large-scale violence and arson.
Protesters were demonstrating on railway tracks and halted all train movement for the last three hours. Security forces were outnumbered as the railway station was overrun by angry youth, who reportedly set three trains on fire.
The railways are diverting trains so that they do not pass through the Secunderabad station. The disruption began at 9 am when over 350 protesters took over the railway station.
East Coast Express, Rajkot Express, and Ajanta Express were set on fire by violent protesters. 71 trains — 65 from Hyderabad Multi-Modal Transport System and six Express trains — have been cancelled so far.
Protesters ran amok at Trichy railway station in Tamil Nadu against the Agnipath scheme. They squatted on a railway track before officials moved them from the tracks. In Bihar, where the protests entered the third day, the house of Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi was attacked. “Such type of violence is very dangerous for society. The protesters should remember that this is a loss for society,” she told a private television channel.
“The large-scale violence and arson is a handiwork of goons instigated by the Opposition parties. What else explains targeted attacks on BJP leaders? My house in Bettiah town was attacked. Window panes and a car parked inside got damaged. Thankfully, none of those inside were injured. Petrol pump owned by a brother of Sanjay Jaiswal (State party president) has been vandalised,” Devi told PTI.
In Motihari, the car of BJP MLA Vinay Bihari was pelted with stones and while the legislator and his driver were not injured, the vehicle was badly damaged.
Two coaches of the Jammu Tawi Express train were set on fire in Bihar’s Samastipur district.
A BJP office was attacked in the Lakhisarai district. A mob set fire to the Islampur-Hatia express train which was stationed at the Islampur station in Nalanda. Three AC coaches are completely burnt down and several other coaches have been damaged.
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fire AND fury engulf Agnipath
In Uttar Pradesh, a mob entered a railway station in Ballia on Friday morning and set a train coach on fire. The crowd also damaged railway station property before the police used force to disperse them.
At Firozabad and Varanasi, protesters raising slogans “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Agnipath Vapas Lo,” vandalised some other trains. The protests also compelled the Railways to cancel several trains and postpone some as a precautionary measure.
Officials said the protesters also erected barriers on the Agra-Lucknow
Expressway to stop buses and pelted stones at them while the traffic also briefly came to a standstill on the Yamuna Expressway near Noida.
Protests also erupted in Varanasi, Firozabad and Amethi, causing damage to government buses among others.
In Varanasi, youths raised anti-Government slogans at the Cantonment Railway Station and damaged buses and carts outside. In Amethi too, youths staged a protest against the Agnipath scheme and blocked the Amethi-Durgapur road. Police and the district administration faced a tough time in removing the blockade. The Amethi-Pratapgarh road was also blocked, they said.
As protests snowballed, the North-Eastern Railways, North-Central Railways and Northern Railways cancelled some trains while they stopped a few others.
Public Relations Officer (PRO) of North-Eastern Railways Pankaj Singh said in view of the protests, the North-Eastern Railway has cancelled 12 trains. These include Varanasi-Chhapra, Chhapra-Aurihar, Ballia-Varanasi, Azamgarh-Varanasi, Prayagraj Rambagh-Mau, Mau-Prayagraj Rambagh, Thave-Chhapra Kacheri, Chhapra-Varanasi, Thawe-Masrakh, Masrakh-Thave, Varanasi-Ballia and Banaras-Patna Express.
Patna, so far, largely untouched by the stir, witnessed some commotion as controversial former MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav staged a demonstration on the Dak Bungalow crossing along with hundreds of supporters, causing huge traffic snarls.
Barely a couple of kilometres away, students staged a huge demonstration at the Kargil chowk and marched through Ashok Rajpath, flanked on either side by colleges affiliated to the Patna University and book shops, coaching centres and residential complexes doubling up as cheap hostels.
“It is natural for the youngsters to be outraged at the Agnipath scheme. They do not join the Armed forces, putting their lives at risk, to be kicked out after four years with no pensionary benefits,” Yadav told reporters.
He also scoffed at the rationale being given for the scheme that it will cut down the defence pension bill, saying “such talk does not hold water in a country where you become eligible for lifelong pension upon becoming an MP or an MLA even for one day”.
It was, however, the railways that continued to bear the brunt of the protesters. The East Central Railway zone headquartered at Hajipur, which had announced restoration of normal rail traffic from 3.30 pm on Thursday, again came out with a list of trains that had to be cancelled, short terminated or diverted.
Railways officials said in New Delhi, over 200 trains have been affected so far due to the protests. The worst-hit East Central Railways -- which covers Bihar, Jharkhand and parts of Uttar Pradesh, the States which have witnessed widespread protests -- has also decided to “monitor” the operations of eight trains due to the agitations.
The officials said they are keeping an eye on the movement of these trains and will take decisions on their operation as the situation evolves.
These trains include: 12303 Howrah - New Delhi Poorva Express, 12353 Howrah - Lalkuan Express , 18622 Ranchi - Patna Patliputra Express, 18182 Danapur - Tata Express, 22387 Howrah - Dhanbad Black Diamond Express, 13512 Asansol - Tata Express, 13032 Jaynagar - Howrah Express and the 13409 Malda Town - Kiul Express. Two ECR trains that have been cancelled are -- 12335 Malda Town - Lokmanya Tilak (T) Express and the 12273 Howrah - New Delhi Duronto Express.
Reports from Faridabad, Haryana said following protests in Palwal, the State Government has suspended mobile internet and SMS services for 24 hours in Ballabhgarh area of Faridabad.