Hyderabad:
A person has died and more than 15 injured as Agnipath protestors in Telangana set fire to several trains and damaged public property today.
Nearly 5,000 protestors allegedly entered a railway station in Secunderabad and tried to set fire to a coach of a passenger train in which 40 passengers were travelling. The passengers were rescued by the prompt action taken by railway staff who helped them move to an adjoining coach.
The protestors attacked the coach with sticks and stones, eyewitness told media persons in Secunderabad. “There were around 40 people in here (inside the coach), but of those who committed the crime, I could not count. There were over 5,000 of them,” the eyewitness said while he showed the wreckage inside the coach.
The protesters also tried to set fire to the coach, but timely action from the staff saved it, he said.
Telling how the passengers were transported out of the coach during the violence, Sharma said, “Two gates were open, so we let the passengers go from one side. We told them, the RPF (Railway Police) will keep you safe.”
The protests against the new military recruitment policy entered to the southern state on the third consecutive day in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana. As per media reports, protests have also been reported in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.
Over 200 trains have been affected – nearly 35 trains have been cancelled while 13 short-terminated- since the protests erupted on Wednesday, according to the Railways.
Protesters are demanding changes in the scheme, particularly the length of service, no pension provisions for those released early, and the 17.5 to 21-year age restriction that now makes many of them ineligible.
]]>
, International, ,