As video goes viral, BSF says constable an alcoholic, habitual offender

Jammu: The BSF on Tuesday said the constable, who claimed poor quality food was being served to soldiers on the LoC, is an alcoholic and was court-martialed in 2010 for indiscipline and aiming a gun at a senior officer even as it assured of a thorough probe into his allegations.

"A high-level enquiry is underway as the BSF has taken the allegations levelled by the constable very seriously.”

"However, prima facie it was found that no other jawan deployed at the same place had any problem with the quality of food being served to them," IG BSF DK Upadhyaya told reporters here.

The IG said DIG level officers who visited the camp earlier had never received any complaint similar to the allegations raised by Constable Tej Bahadur Yadav. "Even Yadav never raised any complaint earlier when the DIG went to the post," he said.

He said the constable has been a habitual offender and was court-martialed in 2010 for indiscipline and pointing a gun at a senior officer.

"It is reality. He has many complaints against him including intoxication, insubordination, aiming a gun at a senior officer. He was court-martialed in 2010. But keeping in view his family and his children, he was not dismissed from the service but was given a rigorous imprisonment of 89 days," the IG said.

Upadhyaya said Yadav has applied for a voluntary retirement from the force and was to leave the services on January 31.

Regarding the allegations levelled by Yadav in his videos, the IG BSF said the quality of the food was same for the officers and jawans deployed on forward posts.

"The BSF itself purchases ration for its force deployed on the International Border, but for the deployment on the Line of Control, the ration is supplied by the army and nobody has ever complained about the quality of the food either on LoC or the IB," the IG said.

He said that as the winter stocking started from January 1, the jawans do not get fresh vegetables as the force rely mostly on tinned food and there has been no complaint against it.

"That too is a time-tested method and the quality of the ration from army is also good. The jawans get vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian food as per their liking," he said.

The IG said that to ensure that an impartial inquiry is conducted into the entire episode, Yadav has been shifted from his headquarters. "He has been shifted to another headquarter to ensure that an impartial inquiry is conducted and that he does not complain of being pressurized.”

"The prima facie inquiry conducted reveal that no other jawan deployed at the same place had any complaint about the quality of the food and they were quite satisfied with it," he said.

The officer said that a thorough probe will be conducted and the aspect of Yadav taking a mobile phone at the forward post will also be probed.

"The jawans are not allowed to take mobile phone when on duty on the forward posts and the same has to be deposited before going on duty. This aspect as how he took mobile phone along with him would also be inquired," the IGP said.

Yadav's videos posted on his Facebook page allegedly showing poor quality food being served to jawans had yesterday gone viral, forcing Home Minister Rajnath Singh to order an inquiry into the entire episode.