Anti-Agnipath agitation: Mob goes on rampage in Hyderabad, one killed in police firing

Hyderabad: A 24 year-old man died and several injured after security personnel opened fire on hundreds of agitators at the Secunderabad railway station here on Friday as the protests against the Centre's new Agnipath scheme escalated into large scale violence and arson.

D Rakesh was the first unfortunate casualty of the violent protests that have swept across different parts of the country, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The incident led to a war of words between the ruling TRS in Telangana and the opposition BJP, with Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao blaming the "faulty procedures" of the Centre for the death of Rakesh.

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Expressing shock and sympathy over the death of the man, Rao announced Ra 25 lakh ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased, an official release said. He also announced government job to a family member as per qualifications. With the railway station witnessing violent scenes with the number of protesters swelling from around 300 in the morning to about 2,000 later and the mob indulging in violence and arson where train coaches were targeted, passengers ran helter-skelter, even leaving behind their possessions inside trains, Government Railway Police (GRP) officials said.

The agitators started advancing towards the loco engines, filled with oil, to set them on fire, though the police and RPF cautioned them not to do so. The protestors started to set on fire things, besides continuously pelting stones on police personnel.

The police were unable to reach them due to heavy stone pelting, GRP officials claimed. The RPF personnel opened fire in air and further cautioned them to not set on fire the loco engines which may lead to sabotage. To save the lives of public, passengers, police and the agitators the RPF personnel opened fire on the mob preventing them from setting fire to the loco engines, they added.

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If they had burnt the engines then a huge explosion would have taken place and that could have caused greater damage to human lives, including that of the protesters, they stated. Besides the lone casualty, about 13 people suffered injuries and were rushed to the state-run Gandhi hospital near the railway station.

One of those hurt suffered a chest injury, while another person had a fracture, a health official said. All the injured were stable. GRP (Secunderabad) Superintendent of Police B Anuradha said at 9.15 AM on Friday some army job aspirants with an apprehension that their written test would get cancelled came to the railway station and indulged in rioting. They had finished their physical test.

Officials said they entered the station posing as passengers. The agitators, numbering about 1500-2000, set on fire some railway bogies and also indulged in stone pelting on the trains and at police and security personnel. "We booked cases against them. In the rioting some police personnel also were injured. This was an unexpected event," she said.

Agnipath scheme protest

A South Central Railway (SCR) official said the protests continued till late in the evening with agitators sitting on the track and raising slogans. At around 6 PM, the police personnel dispersed the agitators Following the violence and arson, a large number of security personnel, including policemen and para military forces, were deployed at the Secunderabad railway station.

When asked as to who opened the fire, the official said decisions are collective in such situations. Police had earlier said the Railway Protection Force (RPF) had opened fire at the rampaging mob. RAF personnel were also deployed at the state-run Gandhi Hospital. Train operations originating from the station were cancelled or partially cancelled and they resumed subsequently.

The official said four coaches were set on fire and windowpanes of over 30 bogies were broken in the incidents and seats inside them were also damaged. Windownpanes of eight locomotives were also damaged besides several stalls on the platforms.

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As per preliminary assessment, the railway property loss could be around Rs seven crore, the official said. No staff and passengers were injured during the agitation. Goods, including fish, eggs inside the parcel coach were also damaged. The way the agitators were damaging the railway property and had the train engine was set on fire along with the power car which was having 2,000 liters diesel and had the fire spread to it, it could have turned out to be a major disaster, the official said.

Subsequently, a decision was taken collectively (to open fire), the official said. In visuals shown on TV, some of the agitators could be seen wielding sticks and smashing shops and other at the railway station. Meanwhile, an aspirant of Army job, who came to the state-run Gandhi hospital as some of his friends were injured, claimed they were disappointed as a recruitment test was cancelled.

The selections have already been postponed in the Army in the recent past due to COVID-19 and others, he said. The man, who declined to give his name, expressed concern over candidates losing eligibility after crossing the age of 21. He said he was unaware about the Centre increasing the upper age limit to 23 from 21 for recruitment under the Agnipath scheme for the year 2022.

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The 'TOD' (Tour of Duty) would give them the opportunity to serve in the Army only for four years, he said. The youth, who hails from Warangal district in Telangana, claimed that they had gathered at the Secunderabad railway station after sharing information over phone. Meanwhile, the violence at the Secunderabad railway station led to a fresh war of words between the ruling TRS and opposition BJP in Telangana with TRS Working President K T Rama Rao demanding that the Centre review the 'Agnipath' scheme.

He alleged that the NDA government has taken a unilateral decision on it. State BJP president and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar termed the vandalism at the railway station as a pre-planned act and alleged that the TRS government failed to prevent the incident. Telangana Congress chief Revanth Reddy alleged the death of the youth was a 'killing' by both TRS and BJP.

Violent protests have broken out in parts of the country demanding the Centre to roll back 'Agnipath' scheme unveiled by the Ministry of Defence which is a pan-India merit-based recruitment scheme for enrolling soldiers, airmen and sailors.

Trains were set afire, public and police vehicles attacked and personnel injured as protests over 'Agnipath' snowballed and swept across several states including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar on Thursday. Under the scheme, young persons will be provided an opportunity to serve in the armed forces as 'Agniveer' for a period of four years, including training period.