'Agnipath' protests spreads to 8 states: Trains-buses set ablaze in Bihar-UP, railway stations vandalized; Depy CM house, BJP office attacked in Bihar (VIDEOS)

New Delhi: Massive protests across the nation against Union government's Agnipath Recruitment Scheme entered day three on Friday.

Trains and buses were seen set ablaze in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, vandalism at Hyderabad railway station, protests in Rajasthan even BJP-ruled state Haryana was not spared from the brunt.

At Secunderabad railway station in Hyderabad purported videos of reckless vandals destroying properties and shouting slogans were uploaded on social media.

Several parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh witnessed protests over the new military recruitment policy. The stir spread through BJP-ruled Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.

Large mob set trains on fire in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia and Bihar's Lakhisarai, where two express trains --Jammu Tawi and Vikramshila were vandalised and put to flames on Friday morning.

The Agnipath protests entered the third consecutive day after it was announced on Tuesday. The government has defended the scheme, calling it "transformative" and even went a step further making changes to the upper age limit in the scheme on Thursday.

Another protesters' group carrying sticks got into a scuffle with the police on the streets outside the railway station in the eastern Uttar Pradesh district. Videos of the protest on social media showed men armed with lathis breaking shops and railway station benches.

"Police has stopped the mob. We will act against the men," Ballia District Magistrate Saumya Agarwal told the media

The protest spread to Rajasthan, BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, where phone internet and SMS was snapped for 24 hours in Palwal district following stone-throwing and violence by protesters. On Friday, Faridabad saw similar measures implemented by the Manohar Lal Khattar government.

The Centre unveiled Agnipath on Tuesday. Terming it a "transformative" scheme for recruitment of soldiers in the Army, Navy and the Air Force, basically for a four-year short-term contractual basis.

Aspirants immediately launched the protests as they were unhappy with the changes, particularly the length of service, lack of pension provisions for those released early, and also the age-limit of 17.5 to 21-year age restriction that left many ineligible.

The Centre on Thursday extended the upper age-limit to 23 -- in a one-time waver. (UNI)