COACHING CENTRES’ ROLE IN VIOLENCE BEING INVESTIGATED
HYDERABAD/PATNA: The head of a coaching institute in Andhra Pradesh’s Palnadu district has been detained for allegedly being the mastermind behind Friday’s violence over the Agnipath scheme at Secunderabad railway station that left one person dead. Meanwhile, police in Bihar said they are probing the role of coaching centres in inciting violent protests against the recruitment scheme.
The head of a coaching institute in Andhra Pradesh’s Palnadu district has been detained for allegedly being the mastermind behind Friday’s violence over the Agnipath military recruitment scheme at Secunderabad railway station that left one person dead.
Rao, who runs Sai Defence Academy in Narasaraopet town, was picked up by the police while he was travelling from Hyderabad to Narsaraopet on Saturday morning, said an official.
The accused is learnt to have created a Whatsapp group by the name Hakimpet Army Soldiers, which comprises hundreds of army job aspirants. It was on this group that he had sent messages to take part in the agitation at Secunderabad railway station on Friday, police said.
Rao has been handed over to the railway police, which was investigating the case, an officer said. “We are searching for people in nine other army exam coaching institutes for their role in the violence at Secunderabad railway station,” the officer said, seeking anonymity.
Police seized mobile phones of youth arrested in the Friday’s violence in Secunderabad and found that they had assembled as per a plan proposed by Subba Rao to register their protest against the Agnipath scheme.
Police also found out it was Subba Rao and his colleagues who had arranged food, buttermilk and drinking water for protesters. It is not immediately known whether Subba Rao, too, had participated in the vandalism or not.
On Saturday, train services at Secunderabad railway station, which saw arson and violence by aspirants wanting to join the armed forces, limped back to normalcy, an official of the South Central Railway said on Saturday.
No violent protest was reported from anywhere in Telangana on Saturday, though army aspirants held protest marches in some places.
Violence and protests marred the Secunderabad railway station, blocking rail services and causing inconvenience to passengers for several hours. Train operations originating from the station were cancelled but resumed later in the evening. On Friday, more than 100 protesters were arrested for arson.
The situation at the railway station was peaceful and police continued to deploy additional forces to thwart any untoward incident, additional director general of police (railways) Sandeep Shandilya said.