Govt job to brother of youth killed in Secunderabad firing

Hyderabad: The Telangana government on Friday issued orders for providing government job to the brother of army job aspirant Damera Rakesh who was killed in Railway Police firing at Secunderabad railway station during the protest against new army recruitment policy Agnipath.

As per the announcement already made by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to provide a job to the family of the deceased, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar issued a Government Order (GO) to appoint Damera Rama Raju, elder brother of Rakesh.

The Chief Secretary has asked the Warangal District Collector to appoint Rama Raju in a suitable post as per eligibility against any available vacancy in the district.

The GO was issued exactly a week after Rakesh was killed in the firing. The Chief Minister had announced Rs 25 lakh ex-gratia for Rakesh’s family the same day.

The 22-year-old hailed from Dabeerpet village of Warangal district of Telangana.

Rakesh, an army job aspirant, was one of the youth who were protesting at Secunderabad station on June 17 against the Central government’s army recruitment scheme Agnipath.

The protestors went on rampage, setting fire train coaches, transport goods and vandalising the station and the stalls. The youth was killed when the Railway Police opened fire to control the situation.

Rakesh, son of farm workers Kumara Swamy and Poolamma, had the dream of joining the Army.

Rakesh took coaching in a Hanamkonda-based institute and cleared physical tests. He was preparing for the written exam and was upset over the repeated postponement of the exam. After the Central government announced the Agnipath scheme, he, like many others, felt that their dreams were shattered.