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Months after BJP’s Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to withdraw cases filed against the youth during the 2022 Agnipath recruitment scheme protests, the Uttar Pradesh government has initiated a review into the matter, it is learnt.
During the protests, youths had damaged trains, buses and vehicles and set them on fire at several places in the state. Several private and government properties were also damaged in stone-pelting.
A total of 51 cases were lodged in 15 districts of the state.
The state government has now written to district police heads and district magistrates where cases are registered, directing them to review related FIRs within their jurisdictions, it is learnt.
The maximum cases — 11 — were lodged in Jaunpur followed by Varanasi and Chandauli at 9 and 8 cases, respectively. Four cases are lodged in Aligarh; three cases in Mathura, Ballia, Ghazipur; two cases each in Gorakhpur and Basti; and one case each in Agra, Gautam Budh Nagar Government Railway Police (Ballia), Ghaziabad, Fatehgarh and Rae Bareli.
They include charges of rioting, assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty, voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty, robbery and criminal intimidation. The police had also invoked charges under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act against the accused.
As per sources, police and district magistrates of Aligarh, Agra and Mathura have received the letters and issued directions to the authorities concerned to prepare the report as per directives.
“Once the report is finalised, it will be forwarded to the government without delay,” said a senior government official posted in one of the 15 districts.
In a letter written in September to the CM, MLA Singh stated that many “innocent and unsuspecting youth” were drawn into the Agniveer-related agitation after being provoked by Opposition parties and certain anti-social elements.
He wrote that the Agnipath scheme was introduced by the Prime Minister and the state government to provide young citizens an opportunity to join the armed forces and contribute to nation-building. However, widespread misleading information circulated by the Opposition created confusion and fear among the youth, putting their futures at risk, he said.
Singh further mentioned that during the protests, some young persons, overwhelmed by emotion, became involved in activities that were seen as violations of law and order, resulting in criminal cases being registered against them.
He added that the youths named in these cases are not criminals and have no anti-social behaviour. He said that if the cases are not withdrawn, their careers, future opportunities and social image will suffer badly. Urging the government to take a humane view, he requested that the cases against these youths be withdrawn.
On being contacted, the MLA maintained that the men were instigated. “I had tried to convince them but I believe someone was behind them and instigating them,” he claimed.
Stating that anyone with a criminal case faces lifelong consequences, the MLA stressed that the youth involved would otherwise carry this burden for the rest of their lives.
He further stated that in September, he had met the Chief Minister and requested the withdrawal of cases.
The Agnipath scheme is the government’s defence recruitment reform under which around 45,000 to 50,000 soldiers will be recruited annually, and most will leave service in just four years. Of the total annual recruits, only 25% will be allowed to continue for another 15 years under permanent commission.
Soon after the government unveiled the scheme for recruiting soldiers across the three services, protests broke out across several cities with aspirants raising job security and post-service benefits as their major concerns.
Under the previous system, troops joined for a 17-year period, which could be extended for some personnel, and it resulted in a lifelong pension. The new scheme, however, envisages just a four-year tenure for most, and the Agniveers will not be eligible for pension benefits.
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