1 reportedly killed in police firing in Secunderabad Railway Station: Agnipath scheme protest

A protester, Rakesh, hails from Warangal district was killed and more than 15 others were injured when the police opened fire against activists of National Students Union of India (NSUI), student body of the Congress party, who torched a few railway coaches, pelted stones and wreaked havoc at the busy Secunderabad Junction Railway Station on Friday morning. The students and the mobs attacked East Coast Express bound for Bhubaneshwar and set two coaches ablaze.

However, the police officials have yet to confirm the casualty in the firing. Three constables were also reportedly injured. Another 20 injured protesters were rushed to Gandhi Hospital.

The students trooped into the railway station in hordes early in the morning in protest against the lacunae and flaws in the "Agnipath" scheme. As many as four buses were also attacked by the protesters and were vandalised.

The activists vandalised the railway station and attacked railway coaches. Some of them went on to torch the railway coaches.

Thick dark smoke billowing out of the burnt coaches engulfed the entire areas. The police resorted to a lathi-charge and then opened fire to quell the mobs from the scene. The unruly mobs also attacked several stalls on the Railway platforms and smashed them. Meanwhile, security was beefed up at the Nampalli Railway Station (Hyderabad) and the General Manager of South Central Railway called for a meeting of to take stock of the situation and the next steps.

In recent updates, the police have suspended 71 trains, all MMTS and metro rail services considering the safety of the people as well as public property.