Agnipath Scheme: Protests Turn Violent In Bihar

New Delhi: Protests over the central government’s Agnipath scheme for short-term recruitment of Army personnel that broke out in Bihar turned violent on Thursday. Hundreds of job aspirants put up road blockades, burnt tyres and disrupted the movement of trains in Jehanabad, Nawada and Saharsa districts in the early hours, The New Indian Express reported.

Police had to resort to tear gas shelling to disperse a huge crowd of protestors who pelted stones at the police at the railway station in Arrah.

Protesters hurled stones at Pataliputra Express, which passed through Buxar station, but there was no official confirmation. In Muzaffarpur town, a large number of Army aspirants vented their ire by placing burning tyres on the roads around the sprawling Chakkar Maidan. Some said they were exasperated to learn about the new scheme which came after two years of “no recruitment” by the armed forces despite their having cleared the requisite physical tests. Police used batons to break up the protest, The Economic Times reported.