BSF soldier video | Home ministry receives initial report, mess commander sent on leave

The row over a video shared by a BSF jawan complaining over bad quality food in border areas 'snowballed' on Tuesday the after the security force sent an initial report to the home ministry.

The Border Security Force has also sent the mess commander in question on leave. 

Sources also said that the complainant, jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav, has also been deployed to another unit.

In the video, Yadav, who is deployed along the Indo-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir, had alleged that troops are served bad quality food and even have to go "empty stomach" at times, prompting the border guarding force to initiate an inquiry. 

Read | BSF jawan’s complaint video of poor food quality: Rajnath, Rijiju take serious note

In videos uploaded on social media platforms, the jawan, wearing camouflage uniform and carrying a rifle, claimed that while government procures essentials for them, the higher-ups and officers "sell it off" in an "illegal" manner in the market. 

In at least three different videos clocking over 4-minutes released online, Yadav (40) of BSF's 29th battalion also goes on to show the food that is allegedly being served to him. 

"We only get a 'parantha' and tea as breakfast and this is without any pickle or vegetables... we slog for 11 hours and at times we have to stand throughout the duty hours. 

For lunch, we get 'dal' (pulses) which only has 'haldi' (turmeric) and salt... with roti. This is the quality of the food we get... how can a jawan do his duty? "I request the Prime Minister to get this probed... no one shows our plight," Yadav alleged.