Today is the fourth day of protest against the Agneepath scheme. Protests are taking a fierce form in many states including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana. With the advent of political parties in this protest, the government seems to be facing more challenges. One person died on Friday during a demonstration regarding this scheme. In Telangana’s Secunderabad railway station, the police had to open fire to deal with the miscreants, in which one person was killed. 23-year-old Damodar Rakesh had been waiting for three years to join the army and had cleared the physical test and medical test, after which he was waiting for the announcement of the dates for the written examination.
The protest against the Agneepath scheme turned violent on Friday morning, following which the police had to open fire to bring the situation under control. Protesters say that Rakesh died due to police firing. Rakesh was rushed to Gandhi General Hospital in Hyderabad where he was declared brought dead by the doctors. However, the doctors refused to confirm the bullet wound till the postmortem was completed. Rakesh was a resident of Dabirpet village in Khanpur mandal of Warangal district. Rakesh’s elder sister is serving in BCF and is posted in West Bengal.
Coming from a farmer family, Rakesh had completed his graduation from Narsampet and passed the physical test and medical test to join the army. After that he was waiting for the announcement of the dates for the written examination. On Thursday night, he along with some of his friends had reached Hyderabad to join the protest at Secunderabad railway station the next morning. He was the youngest of his two brothers and two sisters.
The former sarpanch of Khanpur told The Indian Express over phone, “The family members are shocked by Rakesh’s death and they are trying to reach Hyderabad somehow but they were stopped from going beyond Hanamkonda and back to Dabirpet. Has been sent.” The former sarpanch demanded financial help for Rakesh’s family and a government job for one member.