On Saturday, Railways cancelled a total of 369 trains owing to the protests. Of these, 210 were Mail/Express Trains and 159 were Passenger trains. At least 250 people have been arrested in Uttar Pradesh over the Agnipath protests, which has seen hordes of angry youth, carrying bamboo sticks and stones, storming railway premises across cities and small towns and laying siege to highways.
Meanwhile, protests against the scheme left Bihar in flames ever since Wednesday. The rampaging mobs set fire to dozens of railway coaches, engines and stations and torched BJP offices, vehicles and other property, prompting the police to suspend internet services in nearly a third of the state.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi tweeted that she “understands the pain of the youth…they are disappointed and desperate.”
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Priyanka Gandhi said she wrote a letter Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on March 29, 2022, requesting him to urgently start the recruitment rally for Army which was stopped for almost 2 years. She said that she had demanded an age relaxation of 2 years for the youth. She also said that due to long delays in the recruitment process and appointments, the youth is disappointed.
Her pleas, it seemed, were set aside by the Raksha Mantri.
Meanwhile, security was increased at Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur station and 200 apprehended by the police.
Guntur SP Arif Hafiz briefed: “Heavy police have been deployed at the Guntur Railway station. In the wake of the Agneepath Scheme, some youths are protesting in Secunderabad, Bihar and other places across the country. The arrests are preventive and meant to avoid any incident in Guntur.”
Trains were set ablaze across the country, Friday
On the other hand, the East Coast Railways (ECoR) cancelled and short terminated several trains passing through Odisha due to nationwide protests against the Agnipath recruitment scheme.
The cancelled trains include the Bhubaneswar-Visakhapatnam Intercity Express and Bhubaneswar-Secunderabad Visakha Express. The ECoR partially cancelled at least 10 trains, including the Godavari Express from Hyderabad that will end its journey at Duvvada near Visakhapatna
Alongside, in Bihar, train services have been stopped in till 8 pm Saturday and will be suspended again from 4 am tomorrow till 8 pm Sunday. The authorities said the decision has been taken keeping in mind the safety and security of the passengers and protecting rail property.
In Ludhiana, around 20 people with faces covered entered the Ludhiana Railway station complex with sticks smashed glass panels, and ticket counters, police said. Protests in Haryana intensified after around 50 people set a vehicle on fire near Mahendargarh railway station. A railway engineer at Mahendargarh railway station said protesters entered the building complex and caused damage to property.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a high level meet at his residence earlier today. Following the same, it was announced that the government will reserve 10 per cent jobs in the Defence Ministry to absorb “Agniveers.”
“The 10% reservation will be implemented in the Indian Coast Guard and defence civilian posts, and all the 16 Defence Public Sector Undertakings. This reservation would be in addition to existing reservation for ex-servicemen,” Mr Singh tweeted.
