Visuals of rioting youth shock unwary parents

It seems that parents of many youth who ransacked railway properties and burnt trains at Secunderabad railway station on June 17 to protest against the Centre’s Agnipath recruitment scheme were clueless about their sons’ intentions.

Parents of Rathod Pruthvi Raj (19) of Sonapur in Narnoor mandal of Adilabad district were shocked after watching the video in which their son was seen torching the seat of a train bogie were unable to digest the fact that it was their son who was involved in the ghastly incident. Prithvi Raj is accused number two (A2) in the case of vandalism that took place in Secunderabad railway station.

The video clearly showed Pruthvi Raj’s involvement in rioting and arson. Pruthivi Raj’s father, Rathod Shyam Rao, said the police had shown him a video and asked if the person in the video was his son. The family members went to Hyderabad to meet the police to inquire about the whereabouts of their son and his alleged involvement in the incident. Shyam Rao said he was shocked to see his son torching the train bogie.

Shyam Rao said they did not know about their son’s plans to go to Hyderabad to take part in the protest. Pruthvi Raj told his parents that he was going to Utnoor to take coaching for the written test as he had already cleared the physical and medical tests.

He said that they came to know about the youth involved in the incident when their village name was mentioned in a newspaper and added that his son left home a month ago.

The video showing Pruthvi Raj torching the train, which went viral on social media, was recorded by his friend.

Many people in Adilabad now recall seeing young boys doing exercises on the roadside and toiling hard, running, jogging, and doing push-ups in the wee hours as part of their preparation for Army recruitment, while travelling in their vehicles and RTC buses towards Utnoor.

Some Dalit, BC, ST, and minority youths developed a passion for joining the Indian Army. This has become a prestige issue for some parents in the Agency areas in the erstwhile Adilabad district. For some others, joining the Indian Army was a compulsion, and they were desperate for a job to support their families.

● SHYAM RAO said they did not know about their son’s plans to go to Hyderabad to take part in the protest. Pruthvi Raj told his parents that he was going to Utnoor to take coaching for the written test as he had already cleared the physical and medical tests.