HYDERABAD: V Mallikarjun from Kodangal of Vikarabad district, who was among those who received a bullet injury during the protest against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme, said that it was his dream to join the Army and serve the nation.
Having completed his Intermediate, Mallikarjun was preparing for the Army recruitment examination. Coming from a family of farmers, he had always aspired to serve the country by joining the Indian Army. “ My parents were feeding the nation and I too wanted to serve the nation and decided to join the army,” he said. He received bullet injuries on his back and on the left thigh.
Mallikarjun had cleared the physical and medical tests for Army recruitment in March 2021 and his written test was scheduled in a couple of months. Due to Covid-19,, the written test was postponed and had since been postponed on several occasions.
“After such a long wait after clearing the physical and medical tests, we had so many hopes on the written test, but with just one announcement, all our hopes were crushed,” Mallikarjun told Express, while being shifted for treatment.
Another bullet injury victim R Bharat Kumar from Nirmal district said that he had received the hall ticket for the written test, but the exam was postponed. “We had been waiting since then and now, the BJP government’s announcement of the Agnipath scheme left us ineligible to join the Army.
Mahesh Ramelle from Bidar district Karnataka, though not an Army aspirant, joined the protest in memory of his close friend Ajay Chavan who had also cleared the physical and medical tests and was waiting for a written test.
However, as the test was postponed again and again, he became depressed and took his own life by jumping to his death in a river. Mahesh recollected: “I know the pain of his family and now I see thousands of people like him suffering.”
Thousands of army aspirants from across Telangana and also the neighbouring districts in Karnataka and Maharashtra joined the protest demanding the written test be conducted and all eligible candidates be inducted into the Army.