Hyderabad: Protests against the Agnipath scheme of recruitments for the armed forces, announced earlier this week, claimed the life of a young army aspirant in Telangana’s Secunderabad Friday.
According to sources in Secunderabad Railway Police, the twenty-four year old, a native of Telangana’s Dabeerpet village, was allegedly among the crowd of over a thousand protestors, mostly all armed forces aspirants, who went on a rampage at Secunderabad Railway Station Friday, ransacked railway properties and set fire to railway coaches. Unable to control the situation, railway police personnel resorted to firing in the air to disperse the violent mob, but 24-year-old Damira Rakesh was somehow killed in the firing, sources said.
Thirteen others injured in the violence have been admitted to the state government-run Gandhi Hospital, Telangana Finance Minister Harish Rao said in a tweet.
In this hour of distress, directed Gandhi Hospital authorities to give proper treatment to 13persons who were injured during protest at Secunderabad Railway station against #AgnipathScheme
— Harish Rao Thanneeru (@trsharish) June 17, 2022
An FIR has been filed by Secunderabad Railway Police under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 307 (attempt to murder), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt), 147 (rioting) and 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance) of the Indian Penal Code. ThePrint has a copy of the FIR.
An internal note of the Secunderabad Railway Police, accessed by ThePrint, claimed that according to preliminary inquiry a group of youth, who had cleared the physical test for the army recruitment and were preparing for the written tests, formed groups on social media to orchestrate the protest. The note also said that according to railway authorities, the estimated loss caused by the protests at the station was worth Rs 20 crore.
“On enquiry it came to light that the youth who were selected in physical test of Army and ready for written test formed social media groups and circulated information about the Agnipath programme, which may cause loss to their employment. By seeing yesterday’s incidents in Bihar and Haryana (similar protests against the scheme were held here), they circulated the messages in their group and at once they entered the Secunderabad Railway Station to agitate against Agnipath programme,” said the note.
It added: “150 agitators sat on the tracks for clarification about the recruitment. As per Railway Authorities, the loss is about 20 crore rupees.”
Superintendent of Secunderabad Railway Police, B. Anuradha, told ThePrint that 50 people have been taken into custody and are being questioned.
The Modi government Tuesday had announced the Agnipath scheme of recruitment for the armed forces, which will take in youth between 17-and-a-half years of age to those aged twenty-one, as soldiers for a period of four years. Under the scheme, only 25 per cent from each batch will be enrolled in the regular cadre of the armed forces after the expiry of the four-year service tenure. The government later revised the upper age limit for recruitment under the scheme to 23 years.
While the scheme allows for many post-service benefits, those who leave after four years — which will be 75 per cent of recruits — will not be entitled to pension and gratuity benefits.
The scheme has sparked protests in many parts of the country, with defence aspirants fearing the scheme will make the armed forces a less secure employment option.
Blaming the union government for the death of the 24-year-old Rakesh, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao told the press that the deceased was a victim of Central government’s policies. At his funeral procession Saturday, leaders of Telangana’s ruling TRS party raised slogans of “Modi down down, BJP down down”.
Also read: Schemes like Agnipath must go to test beds first. They shake up the entire system
‘Inspired by sister, preparing for 3 years’
According to Rakesh’s cousin, Anil, the deceased had been preparing for the the armed forces’ recruitment process for the past three years. He also claimed that the deceased had qualified both the medical and written tests this year.
“His sister has been employed with the Border Security Forces for the past five years and is currently posted in West Bengal. She has been his biggest inspiration to join the army. He had previously made three attempts to clear the tests,” said Anil, adding that Rakesh’s father is a farmer.
Anil added: “He (Rakesh) left home three days back (on Tuesday) saying he had to complete some formalities (relating to his recruitment). After that, we don’t know what happened. We just got to know (about his death) from the news and we are very very sad.”
According to Dabeerpet Sarpanch B. Raju, Rakesh had been training for the Army recruitment exams at a private academy in Hanumakonda, Warangal.
The 24-year-old’s body was handed over to his family by the police Saturday.
WhatsApp coordination groups
According to Secunderabad Railway Police, Friday’s protest at the railway station was coordinated over WhatsApp groups.
“The youth (protestors) were from both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, mostly from Telangana. They all coordinated over WhatsApp groups and planned a protest. Most of them would be aged below 30 years. We are investigating how they managed to get fuel inside the station,” said Anuradha.
Andhra Pradesh Police has reportedly taken a person identified as Avula Subba Rao into custody, suspecting his role in orchestrating Friday’s protest at the Secunderabad Railway Station. Rao allegedly runs a private defence training centre. He will be handed over to Secunderabad Railway Police for further inquiry.
Sources in Secunderabad Railway Police claimed, one of the WhatsApp groups which may have been used for coordinating Friday’s protest was called ‘Hakimpet Army Soldiers’. According to the sources, the group includes several army aspirants, and students from different private training centres providing coaching for defence recruitments.
A railway police officer, on condition of anonymity, told ThePrint that the protestors had filled water bottles with petrol and carried them to the station inside their bags.
‘Sticks and stones used in the violence they got in the station. But, they filled petrol in bottles and carried them in their bags and entered the station as general passengers,” the officer said.
Secunderabad railway station is the busiest station in the twin city (Hyderabad-Secunderabd) limits. At least six coaches were set ablaze by the protestors, according to Secunderabad Railway Police. The police warned the mob not to set fire to the engine or coaches next to it saying that it would lead to a major blast and result in loss of human lives and despite the mob attempting to, which pushed them to open fire to control them, the internal note said.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
Also read: With Agnipath, Modi govt’s shock & awe doctrine may have misfired a vital reform, yet again