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Agnipath stir spreads, govt tries to douse fire
Protests spilled out of the heartland into some states in the south and the east, even as the government reassured young people that recruits under the Agnipath scheme will be taken care of after their four-year stint in the forces
A 21-year-old man was killed in police firing in Secunderabad and an unidentified passenger died in Bihar after inhaling smoke in a burning compartment on Friday as protests against the new defence recruitment scheme intensified across India with agitators burning down more trains, buses and buildings and clashing violently with police.
Protests spilled out of the heartland into some states in the south and the east, even as the government reassured young people that recruits under the Agnipath scheme will be taken care of after their four-year stint in the forces. Ministers also issued appeals for calm and said young men should take advantage of the one-time relaxation in the upper ceiling of age for eligibility, announced late on Thursday.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh is expected to hold a meeting with the top military brass on Saturday to discuss the scheme and the way forward, officials aware of the matter said.
“The Agnipath scheme by the central government gives a golden opportunity to the youth of the country to join the defence system and serve the country,” Singh said on Friday. He added that since recruitment was stalled for two years due to the pandemic, the government had relaxed the age criteria from 21 to 23 as a one-time measure, with the approval of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
But the government’s announcement failed to quell the protests that spread to states such as Telangana, West Bengal and Biharon Friday. Young men burnt party offices, burnt cars, buses and trains, vandalised railway stations, toll plazas and shops, and blocked roads. Protests were especially violent in Bihar, where the agitation first began on Wednesday, with protesters attacking the house of deputy chief minister Renu Devi and state Bharatiya Janata Party president Sanjay Jaiswal. Protesters called for a bandh on Saturday.
“I have trained for four to five years to get into the army. I did not do so to get a four year job and then be called army reject. I wanted to be in the army for 20 years or more. We want restoration of the old scheme which provides social security to me and my entire family,” said Ram Kumar, a protestor in Bihar’s Samastipur. He added the protest will continue till their demand to restore the old recruitment scheme is restored.
At least 316 trains were affected and 200 cancelled, railway officials said. Another 14 trains were torched across Telangana, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. “I appeal to the youth to not indulge in violent protests and not damage the property of the Railways,” railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a video message.
Earlier this week, the government announced the Agnipath scheme for induction of personnel between 17.5 and 21 years for a four-year period. In the new policy, only a quarter of the initial intake will eventually be absorbed into the forces and allowed to serve for an additional 15 years after a second round of screening. The government argues that the scheme will boost intake to 46,000 a year. It has also said that Agniveers will be absorbed on priority in other central security forces and be eligible for government jobs such as in the railways.
But protesters are angry about the length of service, no pension provisions for those released early, and the fact that the age limit to 21 rules out many aspirants. The government tried to assuage this concern with the one-time relaxation for 2022. “The Centre’s decision to increase the age limit will benefit a large number of youth,” home minister Amit Shah tweeted, adding that PM Modi took a sensitive decision showing concern for youth of the country.
The defence ministry said the Agnipath notification will be done on Monday, and by December this year, the recruitment process will be completed. General Manoj Pande, the army chief, said the government raised the upper age limit because of Covid-19 pandemic in the last two years.
“The schedule of the recruitment process will be announced shortly. We call upon our youth to avail this opportunity for joining the Indian Army as Agniveers,” he said. Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, said the air force will kick off selection under the new model on June 24. The armed forces plan to recruit 46,000 Agniveers — in the age group of 17.5 and 23 years — this year.
Despite the assurances, protests continued to rage. At least 12 trains were attacked, 10 in Bihar and one each in Uttar Pradesh and Telangana. According to the police, around 150 police vehicles were damaged and they fired at several places to control the mob.
In Bihar, where protests were reported from 21 districts on Friday, angry aspirants set on fire bogies of the Farakka Express in Danapur, New Delhi-Bhagalpur Vikramshila Express in Lakhisarai, and New Delhi-Darbhanga Bihar Sampark Kranti Express in Samastipur. Rail traffic was disrupted at the Howrah-Patna-New Delhi sections, Barauni-Samastipur-Darbhanga section and Patna-Rajgir sections. An unidentified passenger, who was travelling in the Janseva Express, died in Lakhisarai during treatment after inhaling smoke emanating from burning bogies, railway police said.
In the last two days, the state police have registered 70 FIRs and arrested at least 325 people.
A mob attacked the home of deputy chief minister Renu Devi in Patna and of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state chief and local MP Sanjay Jaiswal in Bettiah. Jaiswal said the attackers made a bid to blow up his house and no effective steps were taken by the police. “Had the police been strict, my house would not have been attacked,” he said.
“As a part of a deep-rooted conspiracy, the attackers made a bid to blow up my house and set it on fire, using inflammatory substances, a gas cylinder and petrol bombs. No effective steps were taken. Had the police been strict, my house would not have been attacked. Faces of attackers have been captured in CCTV cameras installed in our house,” he said.
Renu Devi described the attackers as “goons” of opposition parties. “They aren’t the students. They are the goons of opposition parties,” she said. Security was bolstered at state party headquarters in Patna and across the state, after two BJP offices were torched on Thursday.
“Some anti-social elements have also entered the protests leading to violence. I appeal to all not to take the law into their hands. If anyone has any issues, they should come forward and write to the concerned department,” said ADG (Law and Order) Sanjay Singh, adding that about 500 protestors were arrested and 22 FIRs have been lodged. Bihar government suspended internet services in 12 districts till June 19, a government order said.
In Secunderabad, a parcel coach of a passenger train was set ablaze by a crowd and 21-year-old Damodar Rakesh received fatal injuries in a police firing in the air to disperse protesters at the station. Eight others were injured. Confirming the death, a senior official of the South Central Railway said the firing was done to disperse the crowd. “He (Rakesh) always dreamt of joining the Indian army and serving the nation like his elder sister, Sangeetha, who is serving in the Border Security Force,” said Kumaraswamy, his father.
In Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh, protestors set ablaze a police outpost, and a vehicle and four roadways buses were burnt on the Yamuna Expressway. Police fired in the air near Naroli in Mathura, leading to owners abandoning their vehicles, creating traffic snarls. Mathura senior superintendent of police Gaurav Grover said the vehicles were removed and traffic restored after several hours.
In Ballia, young men set an empty train on fire and vandalised a few other trains, prompting police to lathi-charge them. Police reported protests from Varanasi, Firozabad, Jaunpur, Kanpur Dehat Farrukhabad and Amethi, in which government buses and other symbols of public property were damaged.
Additional director general (ADG) of police, law and order, Prashant Kumar said stray incidents were reported in some districts, including Ballia and Aligarh’s Tappal. “Police officers were asked to intensify vigil at railway platforms and other places to avert any further trouble,” he said. “Strict action will be taken against those damaging government property,” he said.
Madhya Pradesh’s commercial capital Indore saw hundreds gather on tracks and hurl stones. About 20 protesters were arrested and two policemen were injured. “Nearly 600 youths gathered in different groups on the tracks near Laxmibai Nagar railway station in the city, forcing the railway administration to stop a few trains,” Indore police commissioner Harinarayan Chari Mishra said, adding tear gas shells were fired to disperse the youth.
A day after violent protests in Haryana’s Palwal, police resorted to a lathi charge when stones were pelted on them at Narnaul in Mahendergarh, on Delhi-Jaipur highway in Rewari and in Jind districts of Haryana. Section 144 was imposed in Narnaul and Jind.
Over 30 young men were detained in Ballabgarh for pelting stones at vehicles on the highway and internet services were suspended for 24 hours. Police have booked 1,000 people for the violence on Thursday in Palwal district.
In Uttarakhand’s Haldwani, police resorted to lathi charge to disperse the protesters who allegedly pelted stones. The confrontation left four officials injured. “We have registered no FIR for the incident. However, we will take required action on the basis of the medical report of the injured officials from the administration and the police,” said Pankaj Bhatt, senior superintendent of police, Nainital.
