At least 14 people were detained in Ahmedabad on Sunday after they assembled without permission to protest against the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the armed forces.
According to police, around 100 people, mostly locals, gathered at Meghaninagar area to stage protest, PTI reported. "We detained 14 of them as they had gathered without permission," Meghaninagar police station's inspector J P Chauhan said.
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The protesters reportedly claimed that they had gathered to protest against the scheme in a peaceful "Gandhian" manner.
“We were not allowed to sit even for a few minutes as the police arrived and detained us. We want permission to protest as long as our demands are not met and the scheme is not taken back,” a protester said.
The Agnipath scheme has triggered massive protests across the country with incidents of violence being reported in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana. There have been reports of protesters torching train bogies, police vehicles and damaging government property. Several trains were also delayed due to the protests on Friday in Bihar and other states.
Several government ministries have announced reservations for 'Agniveers' after their four-year service in the armed forces.
{{/usCountry}}Several government ministries have announced reservations for 'Agniveers' after their four-year service in the armed forces.
{{/usCountry}}Amid protests, the defence ministry on Sunday made it clear that the scheme won't be rolled back. Stating that it was “long pending”, the defence ministry said that they want to “bring youthfulness and experience with it”.
(With PTI inputs)