ADILABAD: Rathod Prithviraj, one of the 10 accused who were arrested in connection with violent anti-Agnipath scheme protests at the Secunderabad Railway Station, not only burnt bogies but also shared videos of the same on social media and WhatsApp groups, instigating other protesters to indulge in violence. He also vandalised property on the railway platform.
A native of Sonapur village in Narnoor mandal of Adilabad district, Prithviraj belongs to an agricultural family. One of the videos, which went viral on social media, shows Prithviraj setting fire to a seat in one of the bogies. Neither his father Rathod Shyam Rao nor mother Meena Bai were aware of involvement of the eldest of their two sons in the violence.
Prithivraj is a graduate and he cleared the physical test in his third attempt. He was waiting for the written test to realise his dream of joining the Indian Army. He reportedly left for Hyderabad by Krishna Express on June 17 after he received a WhatsApp message the previous night. It is also learnt that around 100 Army job aspirants from erstwhile Adilabad district arrived in the State’s capital city by the same train and at least 30 of them took coaching at an academy.
Meanwhile, Shyam Rao said that he was worried after seeing his son’s photos on TV, and as he has no money, the villagers pooled some money so that he could travel to Hyderabad to see his son. “My son was staying in Utnoor and preparing for the Army exams. But we don’t know when he had left for Hyderabad,” he said.