Railway recruitment: Police crackdown on protesting students in Prayagraj

Videos of policemen purportedly entering rooms of students went viral on social media, with the Congress as well as the Samajwadi Party tweeting about the incident.

At present, the three have been booked for murder (IPC Section 302).

THE PRAYAGRAJ Police on Tuesday cracked down on a group of students who, while protesting against the railway recruitment process, allegedly tried to stop a train. Officers said that the train was not stopped but a search was on for those who tried to stop it in order to draw attention to issues related to recruitment under Group D for the railways. The incident happened in Chota Baghada area of Prayagraj.

Videos of policemen purportedly entering rooms of students went viral on social media, with the Congress as well as the Samajwadi Party tweeting about the incident. In the videos, the police are purportedly seen flogging students, breaking down their doors and taking them out.

Also read | Railways warns protesters: Conduct unbecoming, may lead to jobs ban

Prayagraj ASP Dinesh Kumar Singh told mediapersons, “Some boys who live in a lodge came out on the road all of a sudden in a sizeable number. They reached the railway track and tried to stop a train. The train did not stop and reached the station on time. We have video evidence and we are looking for the same people and identifying them. Those involved will face strict action. This search operation will go on and will be done at each lodge.”

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On why the students tried to stop the trains, the ASP said, “The boys, six-seven of them that led the bunch, were demanding that recruitment be done in railways. We are questioning them. They are saying that Group D exams for railways has not happened for a while.”

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted, “It is condemnable that policemen entered hostels and lodges of students, beat them up and indulged in vandalism. The administration should stop this repressive action. The youth have the right to talk about unemployment, and I am with them on this.”

“It is condemnable that to remove students protesting about the results for NTPC, they were beaten up in a barbaric lathicharge. Innocent students were beaten up after police entered a lodge in Chota Baghada. The youth will reject the BJP, which suppresses them at every step. There will be a revolution by the youth, and there will be change in 2022,” the Samajwadi Party tweeted on Tuesday.

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