Agnipath scheme: Youth torch police vehicles in Palwal as protests erupt in six Haryana districts

The protests turned violent in Palwal, Haryana, on Thursday after protesters set some of the police vehicles afire and also pelted stones at the Deputy Commissioner (DC) office and residence demanding Agnipath’s withdrawal.

Chaos prevailed in several areas of the city as shops were forcibly shut and the main road was blocked, thus paralysing traffic on the Gurugram-Jaipur national highway. At least five police vehicles, besides a few public transport vehicles, were reported to have been damaged.

The situation became tense when a large number of youths began to march towards the DC office, where the employees and the DC had to rush for safety in the melee. Even though the police resorted to lathi charge, firing in the air, and tear gas shells to disperse the crowd, the measures proved futile.

Such was the extent of the tension that the administration imposed section 144 of CrPC and also suspended the mobile internet, dongle, and bulk SMS services for the next 24 hours.

In Rewari, too, a large number of youths took to roads and laid siege to bus stands and roads, removing police barricades, further crippling the traffic on the Gurugram-Jaipur highway (NH-48), compelling diversions.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leaders, including former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, state president Udai Bhan, former state chief Kumari Selja and senior leader Capt Ajay Yadav flayed the said scheme and demanded its withdrawal.

Meanwhile, there was also an unconfirmed report that a 21-year-old army aspirant from Jind district who was living in Rohtak had ended his life. However, some media reports said that he was upset over some personal issues.