Army aspirant attempts to kill self fearing arrest for role in Secunderabad protest

Warangal: An armed forces aspirant, fearing police arrest for participating in a protest at the Secunderabad Railway Station against the Agnipath scheme on June 17, allegedly tried to end his life by consuming pesticide on Tuesday night.

He was admitted to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) Hospital, where his condition is said to be stable.

Identified by the police as Govind Ajay, 20, a resident of Kothapally village of Ghanpur (station) mandal in Jangaon district, the aspirant had also given a voice byte to a news broadcaster against the Agnipath recruitment scheme.

A riot-like situation broke out at the railway station on June 17, with coaches of trains being set afire and police opening fire, killing one. The main accused, Avula Subba Rao, who operates a defence training academy in Warangal, was also arrested by a special investigation team.

Ajay, upon learning of the probe and subsequent arrests, wrote a four-page note and posted it on his village WhatsApp group before attempting to kill himself. He stated that he was notified about the protest on WhatsApp and that he immediately left the station when the protest turned violent.

The aspirant stated in the post that he cleared the physical test and was awaiting the written test, when the Agnipath scheme was announced. He had also applied for a job with the police as a constable.

He was apprehensive that he would be recruited neither by the armed forces nor the police department if he was arrested.