Violent protests erupted in Sikar and Bharatpur where railway stations were targeted as police struggled to contain the situation as they were pelted with stones.
In Sikar’s Sri Madhopur, protesters vandalised a railway station amidst a tense stand-off with the local police there. The mayhem triggered a panic in Sri Madhopur town where people stayed indoors and shops were shut as police strengthened law and order.
Sikar SP Kunwar Rashtradeep told TOI that some cops had sustained injuries in the incident.
“We have arrested a coaching centre owner who instigated the youth,” he said, adding that 22 persons have been detained.
Officials from North Western Railway said protests erupted at Sri Madhopur station in Sikar district on Friday morning.
“Around 200-300 people protested at the station. There was damage to railway property, but no protests were held on the tracks. We have also cancelled four trains over the next few days due to the ongoing protests,” said Captain Shashi Kiran, chief PRO of NWR.
In Sikar, Bhilwara, and Jodhpur, the local police used force to disperse protesters. The police intensified security measures at many places to ensure that protests don’t spiral out of control.
In Jaipur, the traffic came to a grinding halt at the collectorate area in Bani Park after several youths led by RLP leader Hanuman Beniwal staged protests. Beniwal on Wednesday had said that he was part of a delegation that had met defence minister Rajnath Singh, asking him to organise army recruitment rallies, and Singh had assured the delegation that a two-year relaxation will be given and recruitment drives will resume soon.
He said that the youths returning after completion of the service will lead to an increase in gang wars.
Police were deployed until protesters left the scene. On Wednesday too, several protesters had gathered on the Ajmer-Delhi highway near Karni Vihar police station area when youths blocked the highway and demanded the rollback of the scheme.
In Udaipur, protesters swelled outside the district collector’s office. They took out a rally and marched towards the collector’s office, raising slogans against the central government and handed over a memorandum to the ADM (city).
Protesters said the fresh scheme will do an injustice to the army and demanded that the old recruitment process should be resumed.
Meanwhile, protesters pelted stones after cops tried to disperse them in Jodhpur. A police vehicle was also vandalised in the scuffle between cops and protesters.
Protesters led by RLP leader Rajuram Khoja assembled at Ratanada, and from there marched to the district collectorate. They burnt tyres and tried to enter the collectorate. Later they submitted a memorandum demanding withdrawal of the scheme.
Khoja said that this scheme was a joke to those who have been preparing for army recruitment for the past three years now. “By introducing this bizarre scheme, the government has made a mockery of their expectations and has begun a new scheme of contractual workers in the army too,” he said.
Some of the protesters turned violent after cops forced them to retreat. They threw stones at the police party which led to cops using force to disperse them.
Similar scenes played out in the Sikar district where police resorted to mild lathi-charge after protesters tried blocking roads.
Bhilwara police dispersed protesters to restore the law and order after some youths tried to block a railway track. RLP activists led protests against the new scheme and were joined by army aspirants.
In Nagaur, youths staged protests in Didwana and took out a rally against the new scheme. They too shouted slogans against the new army recruitment scheme, leading to jams in Didwana town. The rally went from different roads and reached the SDM office where they gave a memorandum to the SDM.
Retired Colonel Kesari Singh told TOI that the new scheme was introduced without a prior test, “The training is an ongoing process in the army, yet, a recruit under the new scheme will have just six months for training. It will just be basic training without a proper course in the tactical scheme. He will not get any promotions and when these people return to the society, they will be rebels,” he said.
In Barmer, RLP workers and youths stopped a train and had a face-off with the local police. The police teams used force to remove protesters from tracks..
