Agnipath Yojana:
The nationwide protests against the central government’s ‘Agnipath Yojana’ military recruitment scheme continued in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi for the third consecutive day on Friday. The protesters mainly consist of youth protesting against the government’s four-year plan.
Trains burnt in Bihar
In Bihar’s Samastipur and Lakhisarai districts, mobs set several coaches of the Jammu Tawi Express train on fire at the Mohiuddinnagar station on the Hajipur-Barauni railway line. Muzaffarpur district also witnessed violent protests.
Protesters also set fire to the Bihar Sampark Kranti Express train in Samastipur.
Students protesting against the ‘Agnipath Yojana’ also set fire to a train in Lakhisarai, Bihar. The protesting youth blocked the railway track at Behea and set several coaches of the Vikramshila Express on fire.
Protesting youth indulged in arson at at the Dumrao railway station in Buxar district. They burnt tyres on the railway track.
The police had arrested 16 student protesters in connection with vandalism, loot and arson at Ara railway station yesterday. More than 650 unidentified people have been booked.
Protests in Uttar Pradesh (UP)
Meanwhile, there was violence at many places in Uttar Pradesh (UP) as well. Youth vandalized buses in Firozabad. These were heated protests in Ballia also.
Traffic was disrupted on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway. The protest on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway started at around 5 am in the Matsena police station area of Firozabad district. Police reached the spot, after which the traffic was restored.
In Uttar Pradesh, protesters pelted stones at buses in Aligarh and Agra. In Aligarh, protesters pelted stones at a passenger bus on the highway connecting the district to Ghaziabad.
Violent protests in Haryana
In Haryana, protesters torched three to four police vehicles and injured several policemen. The police resorted to lathi-charge and fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd, but could not succeed.
Railways cancel several trains
The Railways said that while more than 38 trains have been canceled so far and 11 others have been partially cancelled, 72 other trains are running late due to the protests. In this, five mail and express trains and more than 29 passenger trains were cancelled.
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