Indian soldier in Kashmir complains of deplorable food, frequent hunger

Published January 9, 2017
The man, identifying himself as a soldier of the Border Security Force, says his battalion does not have access to nutritious food.
The man, identifying himself as a soldier of the Border Security Force, says his battalion does not have access to nutritious food.

A man who claims to be a soldier of the Indian armed forces has released a series of videos on social media citing 'corruption' in the Indian army as the reason his battalion receives substandard food and experiences frequent hunger.

The man in the video introduces himself as Tej Bahadur Yadav, a soldier serving in the 29th Battalion of the Border Security Force (BSF). He is standing with a snow-covered mountain in the backdrop.

"We don't want to blame the government because it does send us the food. However, it is all sold off in the markets before it gets to us," Yadav claims in the video.

"A lot of times we go to sleep hungry," the soldier adds, saying their breakfast consists of a "burnt paratha" with tea, and tasteless lentils for lunch and dinner.

"How are we expected to perform a 10-hour-long duty with this nutrition," Yadav says, adding the situation has been persisting for over 10 days and counting.

"I want to reiterate the Indian government does send us food but we don't know where it goes," the BSF soldier said, adding he fears for his life for raising the issue.

"Spread this message and make sure it reaches the concerned authorities as I do not know what will become of me after this video is posted," Yadav says.

Later, Indian Home Minister Raj Nath directed the ministry of foreign affairs to submit a report on BSF, DawnNews reported.

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