Hyderabad: Violent protest broke out at Secunderabad Railway Station on Friday against the Central government’s ‘Agnipath’ scheme for recruitment in the armed forces.
The situation on the first three platforms became tense after students set two bogies on fire during the protest. Students also pelted stones at buses.
Thousands of Army exam candidates who took part in the protest have expressed their anger and demanded the cancellation of the Agnipath scheme. They demanded that the army exam must be conducted as usual.
The protestors pelted stones in ‘self-defence‘ and also set fire to several trains at the station.
“Agnipath protestors set fire to 4-5 train engines & 2-3 coaches. We’ll analyse the extent of the damage. Info of one person being injured. Train services temporarily halted for the safety of passengers,” said Divisional Railway Manager at Secunderabad railway station, AK Gupta.
One person reportedly died in the protest.
During the protest, the parcel office was damaged, and stalls were looted.
After witnessing the tense situation, authorities have decided to stop all the trains, while, the police is trying to bring the situation back to normal.
Police reportedly fired in the air to control the situation.
Protests continue in other states
Meanwhile, protests against the scheme continue in Bihar for the second consecutive day as protestors on Friday disrupted the movement of trains in various districts of Bihar.
In Uttar Pradesh, a protest against the scheme was witnessed in Balia. A huge crowd gathered at Ballia Railway Station in protest against the scheme.
After the protest against the scheme turned violent in Haryana’s Palwal, mobile internet and SMS services have been suspended in the Ballabhgarh area of neighbouring Faridabad district.
