Lukewarm response to 'Bharat Bandh' against Agnipath scheme in Uttar Pradesh, 475 arrested so far

The 'Bharat Bandh' call given by the opposition parties and youths against the Centre's Agnipath scheme, had little impact in Uttar Pradesh. Life remained normal in almost all the major cities of UP including the state capital Lucknow, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Agra, Jhansi and Meerut. No untoward incidents have been reported from any party of UP on Monday.

However, the crackdown of police against the troublemakers continued in UP and on Monday an office-bearer of the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), Aligarh, Sudhir Sharma was arrested on the charges of instigating youths for violence.

Sharma also runs a coaching centre for the army aspirants. On Monday minor protests were lodged by youths in Balia, Deoria, Saharanpur, Chandauli, Aligarh and Sant Kabirnagar but the heavy deployment of security forces controlled it.

In Sant Kabir Nagar, the irate mob of youths tried to block the highway but were chased away by police. In Meerut, the national spokesperson of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) Rohit Jhakad was arrested for conspiring agitations to ensure the success of the bandh. In Saharanpur, five people were arrested for planning to disrupt traffic. In Balia, 18 people have been arrested on Monday. Drone cameras were deployed in most of the districts to keep a vigil on railway stations.

Additional Director General (ADG), Law & order Prashant Kumar informed on Monday that adequate security arrangements were made in the wake of the bandh call. He said that 141 companies of PAC and 10 companies of central forces were deployed in UP districts. The ADG added that the bandh had almost no impact in the state and everything went off smooth.

"So far 39 FIRs have been lodged in different UP districts and 475 people arrested. Of these 330 arrests have been made under serious charges." said the ADG.

He further warned that strict action would be taken against coaching owners who have been instigating youths for violence and recovery is to be made from those damaging public properties.