Agnipath scheme: Protesters vandalise railway station, set trains on fire in UP’s Ballia

 

Ballia: A mob vandalised Ballia railway Station in Uttar Pradesh on Friday morning, during a protest against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme. Raising slogans ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Agnipath Vapas Lo’, youths protesting against the Centre’s new scheme to recruit soldiers on Friday set an empty train on fire and vandalised a few other trains, prompting the police to lathicharge them.

District Magistrate Saumya Agarwal said, ‘Considering the possibility of youths protesting, police was deployed from the morning itself. Some unruly youths came and tried to pelt stones, but the administration did not allow them to succeed. One portion of Ballia railway station was vandalised. Action is being taken against the unruly elements’. Superintendent of Police Raj Karan Nayyar said that the youths are being persuaded to call off the protest and sent back. ‘The incident has been videographed. So far, no arrests have been made’, he added.

Read more: Amid massive protests, Centre gives ‘one-time’ extension in upper age limit for Agnipath scheme from 21 to 23 yrs

Several parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have witnessed protests over the new military recruitment policy. Many Army aspirants for the armed forces are unhappy with the changes introduced under the new recruitment 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. Agitations spilt over to several districts in Bihar as youths protested by lying down on the railway tracks and blocking roads, demanding the scrapping of the scheme.

Following the anti-Agnipath protests, the Central government on Thursday extended the upper age limit for the Army recruitment scheme from 21 years to 23 years. The AGNIPATH Scheme has been designed to enable a youthful profile of the Armed Forces and provide a fresh lease of ‘Josh’ and ‘Jazba’ whilst at the same time bringing about a transformational shift towards a more tech-savvy Armed Forces – which is indeed the need of the hour, the defence ministry highlighted. The selection will be the exclusive jurisdiction of the Armed Forces. A total of 46,000 Agniveers will be recruited this year.