Violent mob torched East Coast Express, Rajkot Express and Ajanta Express.
Secunderabad:
One person was killed and over 15 injured in Telangana’s Secunderabad as violent protests against the new military recruitment policy, Agneepath, spread across the southern state after Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana entered its third consecutive day. There are also reports of protests in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.
Telangana Police resorted to aerial firing to disperse the angry mob at the Secunderabad railway station as the protests turned into large-scale violence and arson, news agency PTI reported.
The protesters are protesting on the railway track and all trains have been stopped for the last three hours. Angry youths, who set fire to three trains, have increased the number of security forces at the railway station.
Talking to NDTV, AC Power Car Mechanic, Suman Kumar Sharma narrated the horrific scenes during the vandalism of trains. He said there were around 5,000 people at the station and about 40 of them entered the train he was in.
“They tried to set the coach on fire. They tried desperately to set the power car on fire, but we saved it. The passenger’s luggage got left behind and broke. Two gates were open, so we let the passengers pass through. We told them that the Railway Protection Force would keep them safe. We got the passengers out of here.’
Railways is diverting trains so that they do not pass through Secunderabad station. The disruption started at 9 am when over 350 protesters occupied the railway station.
Violent mob torched East Coast Express, Rajkot Express and Ajanta Express. 71 trains – 65 from Hyderabad Multi-Modal Transport System and six Express – have been canceled so far.
In Bihar, where protests entered its third day, the house of Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi, attacked as part of a new recruitment scheme, has come under fire. “Such violence is very dangerous for the society. The protesters should remember that it is a loss for the society,” Ms. Devi, who is currently in Patna, told NDTV.
Two coaches of the Jammu Tawi Express train were torched in Bihar’s Samastipur district, officials told NDTV, adding that no one was hurt in the incident. A BJP office in Lakhisarai district was also attacked. A mob torched the Islampur-Hatia Express train parked at Islampur station in Nalanda. Three AC coaches were completely burnt and several other coaches were damaged.
In Uttar Pradesh, a mob entered the railway station Baliya This morning set fire to another train compartment, and also damaged railway station property before police used force to disperse them.
More than 200 trains have been affected – 35 trains canceled while 13 short terminated – according to the railways since the protests began on Wednesday.