Coaching centres provoked stir: GRP

The youth who vandalised and destroyed crores of rupees worth property at the Secunderabad railway station on June 17 morning were provoked by their coaching academies to carry out Biharlike protests and were also instructed to carry petrol cans for rioting, said the superintendent of Government Railway Police (GRP), B. Anuradha, adding that several injuries on the agitators were due to the ricochet of pellets.

On June 17 morning at

8:56 am, about 300 agitators entered from gate number 3 of Secunderabad railway station platform number

1 by sloganeering against the Agnipath scheme of the Union government in Army recruitment.

The police said it was revealed during the enquiry that the youth who were selected in physical test of Army recruitment were ready for written test, which was postponed six times due to Covid and were agitated. “Upon hearing the cancellation of exams, they approached

their coaching academies, who told them to repeat Bihar-like agitations and riots. They then formed social media groups and circulated about the Agnipath scheme and circulated the messages to assemble at Secunderabad railway station at 08.30 am. They were instructed to carry petrol cans and there was a big conspiracy by Army recruitment coaching academies involved in this incident. Further investigations will lead to their arrests as well,” said the official.

The official said they were imposing Section

150 of the Indian Railway Act on the agitators, as railways were a national property and it could punish them with life imprisonment. “Trespassing on the railway track, which is a prohibited area, alone can give them an imprisonment of up to two years by presenting a single photograph or video as evidence in the court of law,” said the official.

The police said they opened fire to keep them from burning explosives in locomotives and that in the police firing, one person died in the hospital

and 12 others were injured, who were undergoing treatment in Gandhi Hospital.

At about 6.30 pm, the police advanced towards agitators and arrested 45 persons red handed on the spot and recovered 44 cell phones from their possession.

“The accused confessed to their offence and the investigation is in progress by analysing the technical data to find out real conspirators, leaders and defence academy owners in this incident. The aspirants are forgetting that if they are involved in a