Protests in Bihar against Agnipath scheme
22 trains had to be canceled and five had to stop after completing partial journeys, East Central Railway said.
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Nawada, Jun 16: Protests against Agnipath, a radical recruitment plan for the armed forces, turned violent today as Army aspirants disrupted rail and road traffic in several parts of Bihar for the second consecutive day. Trains were set afire, rail and road traffic disputed, window panes of buses smashed, and passersby, including a ruling BJP MLA, pelted with stones by angry youth demanding the withdrawal of the new short-term recruitment scheme. Violent protests have now spread to multiple states across the country.
22 trains had to be canceled and five had to stop after completing partial journeys, East Central Railway said. Baton-wielding protestors smashed glass windows of the intercity express train at Bhabhua Road railway station and set one coach on fire. Holding a banner saying "Indian Army lovers," they raised slogans rejecting the new recruitment scheme.
In Nawada, the vehicle of BJP MLA Aruna Devi, who was on her way to a court, was attacked by the agitators who hurled stones at her car, leaving five persons, including the legislator, injured. The BJP office in Nawada was also vandalized. "The protesters seemed to have been provoked by the sight of the party flag, fitted on my car, which they tore. My driver, two security guards, and two personal staff members have sustained injuries," the MLA told reporters, adding that she was "too shaken" to have registered a police complaint. At the railway station in Arrah, police had to resort to tear gas shelling to disperse a huge crowd of protestors who pelted stones at the police. Visuals showed railway staff using fire extinguishers to put out a fire caused by protesters throwing furniture on the tracks and setting them alight. In Jehanabad, students pelted stones injuring several people including cops who chased them away to clear the railway tracks where they had camped to disrupt rail traffic. Dramatic visuals from the railway station showed the police and protesting students pelting stones at each other. The cops also pointed their guns at the protesters to scare them away.
In Nawada, groups of young men burnt tires at a public crossing and raised slogans demanding the rollback of the tour of duty scheme. They also blocked the railway tracks at the Nawada station and burnt tires on the track. Visuals from the spot show a huge crowd damaging railway property and shouting expletives at PM Modi. Many can be seen doing pushups on the railway tracks while the police try to appeal for peace through a handheld public address system.