Amid nation-wide protests against the Union Defence Ministry's new Agnipath scheme, a video of children stranded in a school bus in Bihar’s Darbhanga on Friday, 17 June, is getting viral on social media.
Bandh supporters, armed with sticks, stopped the private school bus near Museum Gumti area which, in turn, got stuck in the crowd of hundreds of protesters. The children in the bus got nervous and requested the driver to not stop the bus but the protesters did not listen to the children’s plea.
In the video, 7-8 children in school uniforms are seen visibly scared with one student crying in fear of the raging protests. An adult woman is seen consoling the crying child and assuring him that all is well.
The bus was finally released after the intervention of the police.
Trains Set on Fire, Railway Tracks Blocked
The bandh supporters in Darbhanga have also stopped the Bihar Sampark Kranti Super Fast Express train. The train was later forced to cancel. Students and youth also jammed the railway tracks and stopped the trains in Darbhanga.
Meanwhile, Army candidates set fire to trains in several parts of Bihar including Samastipur and Nalanda.
Protests against the Agnipath scheme has gripped the nation with demonstrations escalating across at least 10 states including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Jharkhand on Friday.
Following the protests, the government has increased the upper-age limit for recruitment under the Agnipath Army recruitment scheme for 2022.
BJP Leaders Attacked
In Bihar's Sasaram, a policeman was shot at allegedly by protesters while many others vandalised a BJP office. Protesters also attacked the Bettiah residence of Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi.
Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal's residence in Bettiah town was also vandalised during protests on Friday.
"My house here was attacked as part of a planned conspiracy. Stones were hurled and attempts were made to set it ablaze by pouring diesel. A cylinder bomb (contraption made of LPG cylinders) has also been left behind by the mob which clearly had the intention of blowing up the building," he said.
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