Agnipath row: 9 arrested in 3 UP districts, job aspirants block highway in Punjab

Following the wide-spread protest against Agnipath, at least 9 persons were arrested in 3 UP districts for their alleged involvement in violent agitations and for instigating the youth to protests. Meanwhile, a large number of Army job aspirants took out a protest march against the Agnipath scheme here on Sunday and blocked vehicular traffic on the Chandigarh-Una national highway for an hour.

Saharanpur:The police arrested nine people and detained many in Saharanpur, Bhadohi and Deoria districts for their alleged involvement in violent agitations and for instigating the youth to protests against the Agnipath military recruitment scheme, officials said on Sunday. Four people were arrested in Bhadohi and at least eight were detained in Deoria. Those arrested in Saharanpur are said to be members of different political parties, they said.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Saharanpur Akash Tomar said, "We have arrested five people in connection with the Agnipath protest. All are above 25 years of age and are connected to different political parties. Posing as Army aspirants they were involved in instigating youth to protest against the scheme." Those arrested have been identified as Parag Pawar (26), Sandeep (34), Saurabh Kumar (28), Mohit Chaudhary (26) and Uday (26). While Parag is a member of the National Student's Union of India, the student wing of Congress, Sandeep is linked with the Samajwadi Party, the SSP said.

All the accused are residents of villages under the Rampur Maniharan police station limits. In Bhadohi, police resorted to lathicharge to disperse protestors and arrested four youths. "On Sunday, 30 to 40 youths gathered for a protest on the Gyanpur-Gopiganj road with national flags. Before they could start their demonstration, police dispersed them," SHO of Gopiganj, Brijesh Kumar Singh said adding that four people were arrested.

In Deoria, a large number of youths protested against the Agnipath scheme in the Barhaj area. They also resorted to the pelting of stones and vandalized a gas filling station on the Paina road. Police have initiated a probe and have detained eight to 10 youths in the matter. The filling station salesman also accused the protestors of looting cash. Shopkeepers at Chowk and Paina Road closed their shops out of fear and people who came to the market returned home. "Police have initiated a probe and so far eight to 10 agitators were detained. The police are interrogating them but no written complaint from the filling station has been received so far," SHO of Barhaj Police Station Jai Shankar Mishra said.

Meanwhile, a large number of Army job aspirants took out a protest march against the Agnipath scheme here on Sunday and blocked vehicular traffic on the Chandigarh-Una national highway for an hour. According to police, the protesting youths, hailing from villages around Anandpur Sahib in this district, demanded the Army recruitment process to continue as earlier and immediate withdrawal of the Agnipath scheme.

The protesters raised slogans against the BJP-led central government. A heavy police deployment was made to prevent any untoward incident. There have been protests against the Agnipath scheme in many parts of Haryana and a few parts of Punjab in the past few days. The central government on Tuesday unveiled the Agnipath scheme, under which youths between the age of 17-and-a-half and 21 years would be inducted in the Army, Navy and the Air Force for a four-year tenure. Twenty-five per cent of the recruits will be retained for regular service.

The new scheme was projected by the government as a major overhaul of the decades-old selection process to enhance the youthful profile of the three services. On Thursday, the upper age limit was raised to 23 years for 2022 as protests against the new model for enrolment of soldiers into the three services spread. The announcement of the new scheme came in the backdrop of recruitments into the military remaining stalled for over two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In attempts to quell the burgeoning protests, the home ministry on Saturday announced reserving 10 per cent vacancies in the central armed police forces and the Assam Rifles for 'Agniveers' and a three-year relaxation in the upper age limit. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also approved a proposal to reserve 10 per cent of the job vacancies in the defence ministry for 'Agniveers' who meet requisite eligibility criteria. (with Agency Inputs)