In new video, Army jawan complains about harassment by seniors

Team Udayavani, Jan 13, 2017, 9:19 AM IST

New Delhi: A new video of an army jawan on Thursday surfaced on social media in which he has alleged harassment by superiors for writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the problems faced by the soldiers, soon after similar videos of complaint came to light from a BSF jawan and a CRPF constable.

In the video, Lance Naik Yagya Pratap Singh, posted in 42 Infantry Brigade in Dehradun, said that after he wrote to the prime minister, the defence minister, the president and the Supreme Court in June last year, his brigade received a communication from PMO asking for a probe into his grievances.

But, Mr Singh said, instead of investigating the issue, his superiors began harassing him and also initiated an enquiry, which could potentially result in his court-martial.

He stressed that no sensitive information was leaked or mentioned in his letter to the prime minister.

“I had written an application to the PM in which I said that soldiers, who act as sahayaks, should not be made to polish shoes of officers,” Mr Singh said.

He said when the Prime Minister’s Office wrote back to the Brigade asking it to investigate the matter, “the Brigadier…put pressure on me and tortured me to such a level that I could have taken an extreme step. But I will not commit suicide or act in any way or against anyone that will tarnish the name of my service,” he said.

“I have been called for court-martial, but what wrong have I done,” Mr Singh asked.

The army said it has taken cognisance of the matter and it was being investigated.

The video has come to light as two similar clips have been trending on social media.

In one of the videos, a CRPF constable demanded parity in pay and other benefits between the army and the paramilitary forces, citing the difficult assignments they had to undertake. In the other video, a BSF man has complained about poor quality food served to them in icy weather condition on the border in Jammu and Kashmir.