Slain Agnipath Protester Rakesh Laid to Rest, Several Politcal Leaders Attend Funeral

Warangal: The final journey of slain Agnipath protestor Damera Rakesh, who was killed in the firing at Secunderabad Railway station, turned violent on Saturday as some people, who were part of the funeral procession, attacked a BSNL office here and threw stones on the building. The protestors even tried to set the office on fire, however, the police stopped the protestors and detained them. 

Later, Damera Rakesh was laid to rest at his native place Dabeerpet in the district on Saturday. The last rites were performed by his father Kumaraswamy at Vykaunta Damam. Ministers Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Satyavathi Rathod, MP Kavitha, MLAs Peddi Sudarshan Reddy, Muthireddy Yadagiri Reddy and MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy were present at the funeral.
 
Besides political leaders, several relatives and friends bid a tearful farewell to Rakesh, who had dreamt of serving the country in uniform. The youth protested with black flags in Rakesh’s funeral procession to register their protest against the behaviour of political parties.

Several political leaders have termed Rakesh's death as a murder by the central government. They demanded that the Agnipath scheme be repealed immediately and army recruitment should be conducted using the old system. MLA Seethakka blamed the central and state governments for Rakesh's death. 

Rakesh had come to Secunderabad railway station on Friday morning to stage the protest against the new Agnipath scheme, which he believed will dash their hopes of joining the army.

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Rakesh's family members and the youth demanded that the Agnipath  scheme be rolled back and people should be given employment as per the old system.