Over 300 trains were cancelled on Monday and states were on alert over a Bharat bandh called by youths aspiring to join the armed forces against the Agnipath scheme .

Security forces were deployed in Bengal's Howrah, several areas of Bihar and Vijawada in Andhra Pradesh against the scheme under which three-fourths of the recruits are to be demobbed without pension after four years of service.

After the policy was announced on June 14, protests erupted in various states including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Jharkhand and Assam.

As the agitation intensified in some places, protestors went on the rampage setting trains on fire, torching vehicles and damaging both private and public properties.

The Congress is also scheduled to hold "peaceful" protests across the country on Monday against the "anti-youth" Agnipath recruitment scheme.

Security was tightened at various locations in the Howrah district in Bengal, reports ndtv.com. "Police forces have been deployed at multiple locations. We are ready to tackle any kind of situation that may arise. We also urge the youth to not get involved in any untoward activity," Anupam Singh, DCP North, Howrah told reporters.

Security forces were deployed at Vijayawada Junction railway station on Monday. Barbed wires were also put up. Additional police forces have been deployed in all prime locations of the city.

The Punjab government on Monday ramped up security across the state too. Security has been tightened near central government offices, army recruitment centres, military installations, BJP and Hindu leaders' offices in Punjab."The offices and installations related to Central Government departments shall be strongly protected," an official statement said.

A day after violence erupted at the Ludhiana railway station, Ludhiana Police have mounted a night-long vigil since Sunday. Ludhiana Commissioner of Police (CP) Kaustubh Sharma said, "In view of the tensions prevailing in the state right after the announcement of the Agnipath scheme, we have made special arrangements at the station for Monday morning."

"We have done special deployment of Rapid Action Force. Many people have been arrested. We are taking action against those involved in the incident that took place on June 19," the police official said.