HYDERABAD: Preliminary investigation has revealed that the huge crowd that converged on the Secunderabad railway station got to know of the protest through social media. A vast majority of the protesters had undergone coaching for Army recruitment in private coaching centres in Hyderabad and other parts of the State.
During the course of their coaching, they had been members of several WhatsApp groups where they shared information about recruitment and tips for preparation. Once the Agnipath scheme announcement was made three days ago, these WhatsApp groups suddenly became very active, with discussions on the announcement and how it damaged their prospects of a career in the Indian Army.
As they heard of protests in other parts of the country, members of these WhatsApp groups started planning a massive protest at Secunderabad. Accordingly, the crowd started converging at Secunderabad from Thursday evening itself. On Friday morning, they entered the railway station as passengers and went on a rampage, setting trains on fire, damaging trains and other property at the station.
Initial inquiries revealed that these groups were operated by the coaching centres themselves. Immediately after the incident, the aspirants quit the WhatsApp groups. The coaching centres have also deleted the WhatsApp groups, it’s learnt.