Killed in Agnipath protests, 22-yr-old Rakesh was encouraged by sister to join Army, had cleared written exam
India Today
Encouraged by his sister, a 22-year-old Rakesh had long nursed a dream of joining the armed forces and had cleared the written exam. He was killed in the ongoing protests against the Agnipath recruitment scheme on Friday.
Encouraged by his sister, a 22-year-old young man in Telangana’s Warangal had long nursed a dream of joining the armed forces. Today, his family is preparing to perform his last rites.
D Rakesh was shot dead when police resorted to aerial firing at the Secunderabad railway station as an angry mob protesting against the Agnipath recruitment scheme vandalised and set fire to trains. Rakesh, who was also among the protesters, was caught in the cross-fire and killed.
Rakesh was the only son of a simple agricultural family, and his parents had their hopes of a bright future pinned on him. Now those hopes are extinguished. Family members are stunned at the abrupt end to Rakesh’s life, which, by their accounts, was full of potential.
After finishing his schooling, Rakesh had been preparing for the Indian Army recruitment exams for the last three years. He had already cleared the written test.
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It was his sister Rani, who is in the Border Security Force (BSF), that had encouraged Rakesh to go into the armed forces. With his sister’s support and his parents’ blessings, he dedicated himself to studying and taking coaching classes for the exams to come.
On Friday, as unrest over the Agnipath recruitment scheme roiled in many states, Rakesh told his family that he needs to go to Hyderabad to get a signature on some documents. His unsuspecting parents saw him off; they had no inkling that he was heading to join the ongoing protests.