Agnipath Protest: Police Vehicle and Road Buses Burned in UP’s Jaunpur

A police vehicle was torched and two Uttar Pradesh Roadways buses were vandalized in Jaunpur as unrest against the Centre’s Agnipath program spread across the state.

Meanwhile, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers protested in Meerut over this.

No less than 340 people have been arrested so far, including those who have been taken into preventive custody.

In Kannauj, youths staged a protest at Saurikh on the Agra-Lucknow highway to demand the withdrawal of the project.

Jaunpur District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma said hundreds of youths gathered on the Jaunpur-Prayagraj highway on Saturday morning and damaged vehicles including two highway buses and a police car.

Around 9:30 a.m., one of the damaged buses and the police vehicle were set on fire.

Some motorbikes were also set on fire in the Lal Bazar neighborhood, he said, adding that protesters were being chased by police.

Police Superintendent Ajay Sahni said protesters resorted to throwing stones and a vehicle of a local BJP leader was damaged.

Varanasi Divisional Commissioner Deepak Agarwal and Inspector General K Satyanarayan inspected the premises.

Officials said the protesters were being identified and, if necessary, the Gangster Law could be imposed on them. Police forces have been deployed at train and bus stations.

In Kannauj, youths protested against Saurikh on the Agra-Lucknow highway and delivered a memorandum to the authorities.

Additional District Magistrate Gajendra Singh said the protesters were fired after explaining the Agnipath plan to them.

Rashtriya Lok Dal and Aam Aadmi party leaders staged protests in Meerut and demanded the withdrawal of the defense service recruitment scheme.

As many as 340 people have been arrested and police have filed 29 FIRs in connection with the protest through Saturday, Additional Director General (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said.

This number included 145 people arrested as a preventive measure under article 151 of the CrPC.

“They can be held for up to 24 hours,” Kumar said.

The arrests were made in nine districts including Ballia (109), Mathura (70), Jaunpur (41), Varanasi (36), Aligarh (35).

The 29 cases were lodged in 12 districts, maximum seven in Jaunpur (7), four cases each in Aligarh, Mathura and Varanasi and two cases each in Ballia Mirzapur.

A case has also been filed in Gorakhpur, Deoria, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Chandauli, Agra and Firozabad.

The Center on Tuesday unveiled the ambitious recruitment program for young people aged 17½ to 21 into the Army, Navy and Air Force, largely on a short-term, four-year contract basis. year.

Young people recruited through the program will be known as “Agniveers”. At the end of the four-year term, 25% of recruits from each specific group will be offered regular service.

(Only the title and image of this report may have been edited by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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