One person was killed and 13 others were injured during violent protests over the Agnipath scheme in Secunderabad on Friday, June 17. The injured are being treated at the state-run Gandhi Hospital. Speaking to TNM, Gandhi Hospital Superintendent Raja Rao said, “14 persons were admitted out of which one person was brought dead. Among the other injured persons, one of them has received critical injuries to the chest. The rest have suffered minor injuries.” The Superintendent refused to divulge details of the deceased.
A group of young men stormed the Secunderabad railway station in the morning around 9, visuals show them holding protests in front of a train holding a banner that said ‘Justice for Army Aspirants’. The protesters went on a rampage damaging railway property, set two or three train engines and a few bogies on fire and also engaged in stone-pelting. The protesters are upset that the Common Entrance Exam for army recruits was not conducted for three years, and instead of holding the exams, the government has announced the Agnipath scheme. It is to pacify some of these protesters that the government increased the upper age limit of Agnipath scheme to 23 years. The youth were angry that the government cancelled the recruitment examination for which they had been preparing for the last 3-4 years. They said their protest would continue till the Union government scraps the new scheme.
The situation continued to be tense as a large number of protesters remained in the station and on the tracks. The protesters were pelting stones on police while the latter were retaliating with rubber bullets and teargas shells.
The Railway Protection Force, Government Railway Police and city police are trying to bring the situation under control. Additional forces were rushed to the area which resembled a battle zone. Authorities have cancelled all the trains. With the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) buses also being targeted outside the station, the corporation suspended bus services in the area.
Violence at Secunderabad station over #AgnipathRecruitmentScheme. Police resorted to firing after a large group of protesters set two or three train engines and bogies on fire, one person has died. Some videos. pic.twitter.com/9n8WnOidt7
— TheNewsMinute (@thenewsminute) June 17, 2022
Following the large-scale violence, an alert was sounded at all railway stations in Telangana. Security was tightened at Nampally, Kacheguda and other railway stations in Hyderabad. Forces were also rushed to Kazipet and Jangaon railway stations as a precautionary measure.
During the violence on Friday, the coaches of at least three trains were set on fire, and more were vandalised. The South Western Railway has cancelled the Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) trains at the Secunderabad station in view of the violence, as agitators have also blocked the railway tracks at a few places. Three regular train services to the station have also been partially cancelled.
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