Amid the ongoing outrage by the public against the Union Defence Ministry's new Agnipath scheme, an image of a newspaper clipping about a youth taking his life because he could not make it into the Indian army, is going viral on social media.
The violent clashes have gripped the nation in over 11 states since 14 June after the government launched the 'Agnipath' scheme.
However, this particular incident of a youth killing himself in Haryana's Bhiwani predates the launch of the 'Agnipath' scheme. The incident is from April 2022 when a 23-year-old army aspirant killed himself after he failed to join the Indian Army.
CLAIM
The newspaper clipping reads in Hindi, "Father, I could not become a soldier in this life, but I'll surely become one in my next."
The caption along with the viral post links the suicide with the newly launched 'Agnipath' scheme while taking a dig at the present government.
An archived version of the post can be seen here.
(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
On conducting a reverse image search of the newspaper clipping on Google, we came across an article published by a Hindi news website Today Haryana.
The report was published on 29 April 2022 and carried the same newspaper clipping as the viral post.
The article mentions that the incident dates back to April 2022.
(Source: Today Haryana/Screenshot)
The article mentioned that the incident happened in Haryana's Bhiwani and the person who killed himself took this drastic step after he failed to get enrolled in the Indian Army after numerous attempts.
On conducting a keyword search using 'army aspirant suicide Bhiwani Haryana,' we found reports in India Today, Indian Express, and Hindustan Times about the incident.
Hindustan Times' report stated that 23-year-old army aspirant had appeared in three recruitment drives but could not make it to the final cut-off. He could not join the army due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Later on, the army did not conduct a recruitment drive in the past three years and till then he had crossed the upper age limit for eligibility.
The reverse image search also led us to an old post from 29 April 2022 which highlighted the name as Dainik Bhaskar and date as 'Friday, 29 April.'
Taking a cue, we looked for Dainik Bhaskar's online version from the same date and found the article.
Dainik Bhaskar's report from 29 April 2022.
(Source: Altered by The Quint)
WHAT IS THE 'AGNIPATH' SCHEME?
Protests against the new 'Agnipath' scheme have escalated across the country. Eleven states, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Jharkhand, and Assam, are witnessing violent clashes where vehicles, police stations, and trains are set ablaze by the protesters.
This was followed after the government launched the 'Agnipath' scheme on 14 June for recruiting soldiers in the Army, Navy, and Air Force on a short-term contractual basis.
Out of 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers recruited annually under this scheme, only 25 percent of them will be allowed to serve for another 15 years, under permanent commission.
Amid protests, the government has increased the upper-age limit for recruitment under this scheme to 23 from 21.
The incident of the youth's suicide predates the launching of 'Agnipath' scheme and is being shared with a false claim.
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