Agnipath protests: East Central Railway cancels 8 trains, reschedules 6

Due to ongoing students' agitation against the Centre's Agnipath scheme across the nation, eight trains were cancelled and six trains have been rescheduled in the east zone, said East Central Railway on Sunday.

The protest against the Centre's scheme took place in 11 states including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Jharkhand and Assam on Friday, 17 June.

In a few states the protests turned violent, which included setting trains on fire and stone-pelting incidents, and arrests were made. In Uttar Pradesh at least 250 people have been arrested and six FIRs lodged until Friday.

Owing to the violence, the train services of the East Coast Railway zone were also affected.

In Bihar, where trains were set on fire in some places, the state police are probing the role of the coaching institutes behind the violence.

The stone-pelting incident was also reported at the spot in Bihar in which the police personnel also sustained injuries.

Meanwhile, after the protests raged on in some parts of the country, the government has stepped up their efforts to appeal to the protestors not to protest and understand the new recruitment programme of the military.

Meanwhile, after the protests raged on in some parts of the country, the government has stepped up their efforts to appeal to the protestors not to protest and understand the new recruitment programme of the military.

In a bid to provide supportive measures to the Agniveers after their 4-year service ends in the Armed Forces, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday approved a proposal to reserve 10 per cent of the job vacancies in the Ministry of Defence for Agniveers meeting requisite eligibility criteria.

Soon after the launch of the scheme, the government also announced that it has decided to increase the upper age limit for the recruitment of Agniveers from 21 years to 23 years for the recruitment cycle of 2022.

Earlier today, the Home Ministry decided to reserve 10 per cent vacancies for recruitment in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles for Agniveers. Home Ministry has further announced that it will give three years of age relaxation to Agniveers beyond the prescribed upper age limit to recruitments in CAPFs and Assam Rifles. For the first batch of Agniveers, the age relaxation will be of 5 years.

Moreover, there are several state governments like Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Karnataka that have come out and announced various supportive measures for the Agniveers who would return to the civil life after their 4-year service in the Defence Forces.

Several state governments have announced that Agniveers, after serving the armed forces for 4 years, will be given preference in filling of vacancies in state police forces.

However, with the violence spreading in some parts of the country which included setting trains on fire, and stone-pelting, arrests were made. In Uttar Pradesh at least 250 people have been arrested and six FIRs lodged until Friday.