Agnipath scheme; Train set on fire in Bihar, protests spread to other states

NEW DELHI: A passenger train was set ablaze at Chhapra in Saran as protests against the Agnipath scheme for short-term induction of personnel in the armed forces escalated in Bihar on Thursday. Stone-throwing was reported from Ara railway station as the protestors resorted to picketing and road blockades across the state.

In Bihar, the windows of an intercity express train at Bhabhuva Road railway station were smashed and a coach was set on fire. For the second day in a row, rail and road transport in the state was disrupted by Army personnel.

Police used water cannons to disperse the agitators who pelted stones at the police at the railway station in Ara. Protesters threw furniture on the track and set it on fire. Visuals of the railway employees trying to put out the fire are out.

The scheme was announced after the Cabinet Committee on Security cleared it for recruiting personnel, including women, for four years with a provision to retain 25% of them in the regular cadre for 15 more years after another round of screening. The armed forces will recruit 46,000 Agniveers in the age group of 17-and-a-half and 21 under the scheme this year.