Secunderabad violence: Role of coaching centres being verified, say railway police

HYDERABAD: The role of some coaching centres, training Army aspirants, in Friday’s violence at the Secunderabad Railway Station, is still being verified, said railway police officials on Sunday. They are also looking into A Subba Rao’s involvement in the incident even as the Palnadu police have given given a clean chit
“Many Army aspirants who have been waiting to take the written test after clearing the physical and medical test, went to seek advice from these coaching centre staff (where they earlier took training), after Centre announced the Agnipath scheme.There, they staff cited the example of Bihar, where violence had already erupted, to instigate the youth...We have information that it was on the ill advice of some of these coaching centres that the protesters from different parts of Telangana stormed the Secunderabad railway station and resorted to violence,” B Anuradha, railway superintendent of police, while addressing the media.
Claiming that the police were taken by surprise by the massive protest, Anuradha said that the planning for it started a day in advance on different instant messaging groups — Soldiers to Die, Railway Station Block, Indian Army Group, Hakimpet Army Soldiers Group, Army GD 2021 March rally, CEE Soldiers Group etc. Those part of these groups were urged congregate at the railway station and demand the scraping of Agnipath.
Since there was huge quantities of different fuels, including transformer oil in some train coaches, railway police said that they had no other option but to open fire on protesters to curb the violence and avert a much bigger tragedy that could unfold if the fire spread to the parts where the fuel was stored. By that time, protesters had already set some coaches on fire. It was during the firing that 18-year-old Damodara Rakesh died and 13 others were injured. “Police opened fire 20 rounds. While one of them hit Rakesh, the others suffered pellet injuries,” the official added.
Police warned that under Section 150 of the Indian Railway Act, protesters can face life imprisonment for damaging railway property — currently estimated at around Rs 20 crore.