The Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday assured the Delhi High Court that Border Security Force Constable Tej Bahadur Yadav, whose viral video about poor quality food served to jawans triggered an investigation, was not under arrest. The court was hearing the habeas corpus plea filed by Yadav’s family who claimed that they had no idea about his whereabouts.
The ministry’s advocate said Yadav had been shifted to another battalion in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba district. Following this, the bench of Justice BD Ahmed and Justice Ashutosh Kumar ordered that Yadav’s wife Sharmila be allowed to meet him over the weekend. The court will hear the matter again on February 15, reported ANI.
Sharmila had said that Yadav, who spoke with her last on February 7, was taken to a secret location and demanded that he be produced before the court. Earlier, she had alleged that Yadav had been detained by the BSF. The force, however, had denied the claims. Paramilitary Director General KK Sharma had assured Sharmila of a fair inquiry into the matter on February 6.
Yadav’s brother-in-law Vijay had said that they had sent two letters to the BSF deputy inspector general, but had yet to receive a reply. He had also expressed his displeasure at the BSF for cancelling Yadav’s plea for voluntary retirement service. Regarding Yadav’s VRS, officials had said that the jawan’s request was put on hold till the court of inquiry submitted its recommendations in the case.
In January, Yadav had shared a series of videos on Facebook, in which he showed the poor quality of food that troops were served along the border and alleged that they were often forced to sleep on an “empty stomach”. Yadav had said that senior officers sell the supplies bought for them by the government.
The BSF had initiated an inquiry into the case after the videos went viral, but it highlighted that Yadav had faced disciplinary action for multiple reasons in the past, including “alcohol abuse, use of insubordinate language, habitual absenteeism and acting in a manner prejudicial to an official order”.
The Home Ministry, too, had sought a report on the allegations. The ministry had rejected the BSF’s initial report on Yadav’s allegations and asked the force to submit a new one. The BSF, on its part, had asked its commanders to ensure that constables on duty were not carrying cellphones.
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