Hyderabad: Jailed agitators, who took part in the protests against the Agnipath armed forces recruitment scheme at the Secunderabad Railway Station on June 17, are a worried lot about their future prospects and career paths, officials who counselled them said.
With stringent sections of the law invoked in cases against them, they are fearful of facing long jail terms and being blackballed from government jobs.
“We have been talking to them and counselling them. They seemed to be scared about their future as the charges levied against them are serious ones,” an official at the Chanchalguda jail said.
Authorities at the jail said that they are detained in separate blocks and that they are not allowed to meet or lobby on the jail premises.
Superintendent of government railway police B. Anuradha said that those involved in the protests and riots will be booked under Section 150 of the Indian Railway Act — as railways are a national property — that can attract life imprisonment.
“Trespassing on the railway track, which is a prohibited area, alone can lead to imprisonment of up to two years, by presenting a single photograph or video as an evidence in the court. If they (agitators) are involved in a crime, they will lose the opportunities for Army recruitment as well as other government jobs. The youth, misled and provoked by agencies, are forgetting the consequences of illegal acts,” Anuradha said.
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