The Department of Military Affairs’ move to screen out those who had taken part in the recent series of protests against the Agnipath scheme has come as a shocker for many army job aspirants from northern Kerala. If the rule is strictly implemented by insisting on a police clearance certificate for the same as planned, nearly 500 youngsters who wait for the Common Entrance Exam (CEE) after clearing the physical and medical screening tests are likely to fall at the final hurdle.
Though the police have not zeroed in on anyone subsequent to the announcement, issuing the proposed clearance certificate without verifying the identities of the protestors could land the police in further trouble. According to sources, the identification process itself can surface as a headache as many of the protesters had worn masks.
“What we felt during the protest was that the police were not very keen on capturing our faces as we were part of a very peaceful demonstration with genuine demands. Our plea was to conduct the CEE that was postponed multiple times with the pandemic outbreak,” claimed a youth who was part of the protest here on June 18. He said the fresh move to insist police clearance certificates stating that they were not part of any protest would only screw up the already disheartened youngsters.
