Authorities have suspended internet services in many parts of Bihar with the aim of halting public gatherings and violent protests over the Agnipath recruitment process, police officials said on Saturday.
One person was killed and more than a dozen people were injured in a series of protests in some parts of the country over the government's new recruiting policy.
The Agnipath program or "firefighting" program aims to bring more people into the military on four-year contracts to reduce India's 1.38 million years of military power and reduce rising pension costs, the government said.
Protesters, especially young men, argued that the program would reduce job opportunities with the defense force, which guarantees fixed salaries, pensions and other benefits.
Many took to the streets of Bihar, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to protest the protest.
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp have been shut down in 18 of the 38 districts of Bihar, said Sanjay Singh, a Bihar police chief, when protesters set fire to trains and buses this week to express their anger.
In Uttar Pradesh, police have arrested at least 250 people under what has been called a detention order. Some protesters have accused police of using excessive force.
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Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has urged young people to apply under the new system. Maritime Chief of Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar said on Friday the protests were unexpected and probably the result of false information about the new system.
"I did not expect any protests like this," Admiral R. Hari Kumar told Reuters TV colleague ANI. "It is the biggest change in human resource management that has ever taken place in the Indian military."
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