Outrage over Agnipath, job aspirants block railway track in Delhi's Nangloi

More than a dozen defence force aspirants on Thursday stopped a train at Nangloi Railway Station in outer Delhi by lying down on tracks protesting against the centre's Agnipath' scheme that seeks to recruit soldiers on short term contract.

According to police, around 15-20 people people gathered at Nangloi Railway Station around 9.45 am to protest against a delay in railway recruitment examinations and against the Agnipath Scheme.

They stopped a train which was bound for Old Delhi from Jind in Haryana, police said.

Police reached the spot immediately where GRP staff was also present, asked the protesters to vacate the railway track peacefully, they said.

The protesters said they had applied for some government jobs two to three years ago, but the examinations for the recruitment have not been conducted yet, and they have crossed the minimum eligibility age now, Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer) Sameer Sharma said.

At present the situation is under control and all the students have been dispersed from the railway track, he said.

The central government on Tuesday announced Agnipath' scheme for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, Navy, and Air Force on a short-term contractual basis, apparently to cut the ballooning salary and pension bills and carve out a youthful profile of the armed forces.

The move has drawn the ire of defence force aspirants, who have taken to streets at a number of places, especially in Bihar.

Protests against the scheme continued across Bihar for the second consecutive day on Thursday as demonstrators disrupted railway and road traffic in Jehanabad, Buxar, and Nawada districts.

People blocked the movement of trains on Patna-Gaya and Patna-Buxar routes by lying down on the railway tracks in Jehanabad and Buxar districts. They were removed from the tracks by the police.