The Border Security Force officer who shot a video in January 2017 alleging that poor quality food was served to the troops, has now claimed that his colleagues uploaded the clip on social media, The Times of India reported on Wednesday.
Tej Bahadur Yadav, who the BSF subsequently dismissed from service, asked in a plea before the Punjab and Haryana High Court that his termination be revoked. Taking note of the plea, judge PB Bajanthri on Tuesday issued a notice to the Union Home Ministry, BSF Director-General KK Sharma and the commandant of the battalion in which Yadav served.
The petitioner’s counsel, SP Yadav, said Tej Bahadur Yadav does not know how the video was uploaded on his Facebook account on January 8, 2017.
SP Yadav claimed that Pravin Kumar, the commandant of Tej Bahadur Yadav’s battalion, ordered the trooper to delete the video. However, the BSF constable said he did not know how to do so. Subsequently, Kumar ordered Assistant Sub Inspector Jai Chand to remove the clip.
In his petition, Tej Bahadur Yadav claimed that Kumar was upset with him because the video was uploaded on social media. He also alleged that Kumar discriminated against him on several occasions.
Tej Bahadur Yadav, who was posted in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, said that he had pointed out the poor food quality to ASI Gurdeep Singh, ASI Tej Pal Singh and the mess commander, but no action was taken.
The case
On January 9, Yadav had reportedly shared a series of videos on Facebook, in which he described the poor quality of food that troops were served along the border. Yadav had also 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. The Home Ministry, too, had sought a report on the allegations.
Meanwhile, the BSF had asked its commanders to ensure that constables on duty were not carrying cellphones.
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