Agnipath protests spread to MP, Telangana; Army chief seeks out 'Agniveers'

Amid protests across the country against the new 'Agnipath' recruitment scheme for the armed forces, Army Chief General Manoj Pande on Friday clarified that the government's decision to revise the upper age limit to 23 years from 21 in 2022 will give an opportunity to youths who were preparing to join the force but were unable to do so for the last couple of years due to the Coronavirus pandemic. 

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Gen Pande, in a statement, said that the government has informed the Army to grant a one-time age waiver. He further said that the announcement about the recruitment process will be out shortly. 

The Chief of Army Staff also called upon the youth to avail the opportunity to join the Indian Army as 'Agniveers'.

"This decision will provide an opportunity for many of our young, energetic and patriotic youth who, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we're preparing to join the recruitment rallies, which couldn't be completed in the last two years due to COVID restrictions," he said.

"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," Gen Pande said.

Violence in Secunderabad

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The army chief's statement comes in the backdrop of protests that spread to Telangana on Friday. In Telangana's Secunderabad, unidentified miscreants went on a rampage at the Secunderabad Railway station and set ablaze a parcel coach of a passenger train. 

The agitators indulged in sloganeering against the Centre, demanding normal recruitment of army jobs. 

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South Central Railway sources said that around 300-350 agitators pelted stones. They then pulled out cargo from the parcel coach and dumped it on the tracks and set fire leading to disruption of some train services. 

Some stalls in the railway station were also damaged

Violence in Bihar

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In Bihar, angry job aspirants set ablaze at least 20 bogies of the New Delhi-Darbhanga Bihar Sampark Kranti Express and New Delhi-Bhagalpur Vikramshila Express at Samastipur and Lakhisarai stations and blocked state highways. 

The demonstrators blocked highways at several places in Samastipur, Buxar and Bhagalpur and burnt tyres as a mark of protest.

An ECR official said around 20 trains had to be cancelled due to the incidents of violence while many others were diverted to alternate routes.

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Hordes of aspirants had been protesting on the streets since the scheme was announced. Mobs have vandalised buildings and vehicles, stormed railway stations and set fire to train coaches demanding immediate rollback of 'Agnipath'. 

Protests in Madhya Pradesh

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A massive protest was carried out against the central government's Agnipath scheme after angered youth started pelting stones on trains at Indore's Laxmibai Nagar railway station, injuring at least one policeman.

More than 100 people gathered at the railway station on Friday morning to protest the scheme. The protestors are reportedly being said to be those youth who had come for army recruitment.

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Several trains, including Indore-Pune Express, were stopped while many others, including Mhow-Ratlam and Indore-Ujjain MEMU train, were cancelled.

The police force was deployed at Indore's main railway station, the new railway station as well as Laxmibai Nagar railway station. Apart from this, the force was also deployed at Dr Ambedkar Nagar (Mhow) railway station.

As per reports, several windows of trains have been damaged while a railway crossing was also broken by the protestors. At least seven to eight people have been arrested so far by the police.