Mathura: Protests over the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme have snowballed and swept across several states with trains set afire, public and police vehicles attacked and personnel injured. As the violence spiralled, the government raised the upper age limit to 23 years from 21 years for recruitment under the scheme for the year 2022.
From Bihar’s Ara to Haryana’s Palwal, from Agra in Uttar Pradesh to Gwalior and Indore in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, hundreds of young aspirants for jobs in the armed forces took to streets, pouring their anger on public and private property.
The protesters hurled stones at buses in Aligarh and Agra. Protests also broke out in Bulandshahr, Mathura, Firozabad and Ballia districts. Amid the violent protests in Mathura where agitators resorted to stone pelting on Friday, a man was seen struggling to hold up a child as a family tried to escape.
The video being circulated on social media shows people running for cover behind police with riot gear. The incident was caught on camera on a prominent national highway that passes through the western Uttar Pradesh’s district.
Watch the video here:
A man runs for cover with his child during stone pelting on the national highway in Mathura , UP by #AgneepathScheme protestors … pic.twitter.com/nvpxPb0jI5
— Alok Pandey (@alok_pandey) June 17, 2022
Other visuals from the highway police chasing protesters and firing tear gas at them on the highway. Protesters also smashed windowpanes of several cars and trucks on the highway. Responding to the video, Mathura Police said senior officers were at the spot and strict action will be taken against the violent protesters.
As violent protests against the new recruitment scheme Agnipath raged across several states, the government issued a clarification, asserting that the new model will not only bring in new capabilities to the armed forces but also open up avenues for youth in the private sector and help them become entrepreneurs with the aid of the financial package they will get upon retirement.
