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Agnipath protests: Cops shield people as protesters throw stones | Video
Agnipath protest violence: In a video shared by news agency ANI, the police resorted to tear gas shelling to disperse the crowd. In the video, a woman was heard frantically calling her near and dear ones while hiding behind a truck.
As protests continue across Uttar Pradesh against the Agnipath recruitment scheme, the police personnel shield commuters as protesters pelted stones during a protest on the Delhi-Agra highway in Mathura.
In a video shared by news agency ANI, the police resorted to tear gas shelling to disperse the crowd. In the video, a woman was heard frantically calling her near and dear ones while hiding behind a truck.
According to the police officials, few vehicles were damaged during the protest and the situation is under control. Earlier in the day, the police personnel resorted to firing in the air along the Agra-Delhi highway.
Besides Mathura, several districts of the state witnessed protests against the Agnipath recruitment scheme. In Ballia, two trains were vandalised and a compartment set afire. At least 100 people have been arrested in connection with the state.
In a separate incident, about 150 protesters blocked a road at Wajidpur, disrupting traffic on the Varanasi-Jaunpur road. In Varanasi, a protest was held outside the cantonment railway station. The protesters held placards and shouted slogans. In Aligarh, roadways buses were torched near Tappal.
“We received info about protests at 17 locations so far. At two of these places, in Ballia & Aligarh, incidents of arson occurred. In Ballia, hooligans set ablaze a (train) compartment that was in the washing pit,” ADG Law and Order Prashant Kumar told news agency ANI.
Over 200 trains have been affected so far due to the protests against the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the armed forces, the Railways said Friday. Around 35 trains have been cancelled while 13 short-terminated since the protests erupted on Wednesday, the national carrier said. 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.
