On Saturday, the Aligarh Police released photos of protesters who stoked violence in Tappal area, torched a bus and a police post in Jattari amid massive protest against the Agnipath recruitment scheme for armed forces.
This is a day after the miscreants protesting against the Agnipath scheme ransacked properties and pelted stones in Aligarh. They disturbed the law and order in the area further by setting the police post Jattari on fire. The SSP and other police officers strived to save themselves as the violent protesters continued to pelt stones and glass bottles at them.
#Agnipath Scheme Protests: #Aligarh Police have released images of those who were allegedly involved in violent activities.
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) June 18, 2022
Aadarsh joins @anchoramitaw with the latest. pic.twitter.com/0jfbKPaYM2
Releasing the photographs of the violent mob, Aligarh police also announced reward for those who identity them. The identity of people who identify the miscreants will be kept confidential, the police have assured.
Following the union government’s unveiling of the Agniveer scheme in cooperation with all three armed forces, throngs of ‘youth’ protesters rushed to the streets and vandalized public property under the guise of ‘protests’ and marches. So-called armed forces aspirants damaged public property, set fire to trains, and brought life to a standstill in various Indian states.
In Uttar Pradesh, violent protests were executed in Varanasi, Firozabad Amethi, Ballia, Mathura, Agra, and several other areas. The rioters raised slogans against the scheme and demanded its repeal. They set a bogey of an empty train on fire and also vandalized a few other trains in Ballia, Firozabad, and Varanasi. The protesters also reached the Agra-Lucknow Expressway and the Yamuna Expressway and damaged the buses on the way. Reportedly, four buses were damaged due to stone pelting on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway, and eight vehicles were set ablaze on the Yamuna Expressway. Protesters also set a coach of an empty train on fire in Ballia, where police lobbed teargas shells to disperse them and took 100 people in custody.
The UP Police on June 18 registered 6 FIRs against the miscreants and arrested around 260 people from various parts of the state. Of 260, 109 people were arrested in Ballia, 70 in Mathura, 30 in Aligarh, 27 in Varanasi Commissonerate, and 15 in Gautam Buddha Nagar Commissonerate.
Uttar Pradesh | Six FIRs registered across four districts in connection with protests against #AgnipathRecruitmentScheme. 260 people arrested so far. pic.twitter.com/TbbuDsAkJB
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) June 18, 2022
According to UP Police, protests took place at 17 places across the state, including Ballia, Aligarh, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Varanasi.
Reportedly, yesterday a video also went viral over the internet in which some protestors could be heard saying that if the government doesn’t repeal the scheme, they will become terrorists instead of joining the army. “Agar Sarkar Kanoon Wapis Nahi Legi To Majburi Me Hum Aatankwadi Ban Jayenge (If the government doesn’t take this back, we will become terrorists in helplessness), a fellow protester said.
The government June 14 launched the Agnipath scheme for the recruitment of youth in the armed forces. Those who get enrolled in the armed forces under this scheme would be called Agniveers. The enrollment under the scheme will be open for both men and women for four years, including the training.