Jaunpur/Kannauj/Meerut, Jun 18 (PTI) A police jeep and an Uttar Pradesh roadways bus were torched in Jaunpur while RLD and AAP workers protested in Meerut as the agitation against the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme spread in different parts of the state.

In Kannauj, youths staged a protest at Saurikh on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway demanding the withdrawal of the contentious scheme.

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District Magistrate of Jaunpur Manish Kumar Verma said hundreds of youths gathered on the Jaunpur-Prayagraj highway on Saturday morning and damaged many vehicles, including two roadways buses and a police car.

Around 9.30 am, one of the damaged buses and a police jeep were set ablaze. Some motorcycles, including one of the police, were also torched in the Lal Bazar area, he said, adding the protesters were chased away by the police.

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According to Superintendent of Police Ajay Sahni, the protestors resorted to stone-pelting and a vehicle of a local BJP leader was damaged.

Varanasi Divisional Commissioner Deepak Agarwal and Inspector General K Satyanarayan inspected the spot.

Officials said the protestors were being identified and if needed, the Gangster Act may be imposed against the accused. An adequate police force has been deployed at railway and bus stations.

In Kannauj, youths protested against the Agnipath scheme at Saurikh on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway and handed over a memorandum to the officials. Additional District Magistrate Gajendra Singh said the protesters were sent back after explaining the Agnipath scheme to them.

Leaders of Rashtriya Lok Dal and Aam Aadmi Party staged protests in Meerut and demanded that the recruitment scheme for defence services be withdrawn.

Unveiling the scheme on Tuesday, the government said youths between the ages of 17-and-a-half and 21 years would be inducted for a four-year tenure while 25 per cent of the recruits will be retained for regular service. The upper age limit was raised to 23 years on Thursday.

The new scheme for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, Navy and Air Force was projected by the government as a major overhaul of the decades-old selection process to enhance the youthful profile of the three services.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)