Navratan Choudhary, a clerk with the Border Security Force (BSF), posted a video on Facebook on Sunday morning which showed a jawan of the 176 battalion washing "personal cars" of the concerned authorities in Gujarat wearing his uniform. Choudhary, who is a jawan with the 150 Battalion, also accused the BSF authorities of "dictatorship" and of "imposing rules only on those who complain."
This comes after Choudhary had uploaded a video on January 26 accusing the authorities of selling liquor, which was meant for BSF personnel, to outsiders in Gujarat and also claimed that the BSF had not taken any action in this matter despite him registering a complaint. Choudhary, who hails from Bikaner in Rajasthan, is posted at Gandhidham in the Kutch district of Gujarat.
In the January 26 video, a civilian is seen carrying liquor bottles in Gujarat, a dry state where the sale and consumption of alcohol is strictly forbidden, allegedly bought from the "150 Battalion camp." BSF officials ordered an enquiry into the matter after the video went viral.
"Liquor (meant for jawans) bought from jawans' saved money, is being sold to outsiders. I registered a complaint four months ago, but no action has been taken yet. So I had to come before the country (like this) to show this... Let me see what action BSF takes after this (posting a video proof). I will provide more evidence," he said adding that he "was transferred to a new place" every single time he complained about "wrongdoings" within the BSF.
He further added: "Our Constitution provides equal rights to all, but we (BSF jawans) are deprived from that as we cannot even ask for good food. If someone complains about this by mistake, he is treated as if he has committed a very big offence, as if we have asked for a fortune and not food. Now they have crossed all the limits of dictatorship. I can tell you that you can openly do corruption in the BSF, but if you complain about this, you have committed a big crime."
In the second video, Choudhary has alleged that the BSF authorities "are overlooking the fact that liquor is being sold in Gujarat which is a dry state. Instead, the BSF IG is accusing me of breaking rules and discipline by complaining while being on leave and sitting in my house wearing the BSF uniform." He also addressed the DIG saying that he registered the complaint of sale of liquor bottles on the platform provided by the authorities on October 7, 2016, but no action was taken.
Choudhary also asked the IG on what grounds did he break discipline: "Am I not a soldier of the country if I am on leave ? What rules have I broken? Did I tease a girl ? Or did I get drunk and fight with someone ? No. I am working for my country despite being on leave. I am exposing the corrupt."
He added: "I am being punished for being an honest and true soldier of this country. What did I not go through? I received several threats. I was tortured. But the BSF officials do not know that Navratan Choudhary is not scared of death... I am a soldier of the country. I am not scared of death. I will answer every question with proof."
However, a BSF official told the Hindustan Times: "He has a habit of making complaints most of which lack basis. He has uploaded video from his hometown in Bikaner, where he is on leave. We have asked him to join back and will constitute an inquiry committee to look into his complaint."
These videos came after another BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Singh had uploaded a video accusing the authorities of serving poor quality of food to the soldiers of the 29 Battalion posted along the border in Poonch. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had sought a report from the BSF after the video went viral.
Two days later, a CRPF jawan deployed in Mount Abu posted a video message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging discrimination between the facilities provided to the army and the paramilitary forces. A police constable from Uttar Pradesh also posted a video alleging harassment by senior police officers.
After the videos went viral, the BSF strictly imposed the no-mobile-phone rule while on duty for all personnel while the Centre decided to develop an app for soldiers to air their grievances. The Indian Amry, a couple of days ago, also set up a WhatsApp number — +91 9643300008 — for its jawans to directly relay their problems to Army Chief General Bipin Rawat instead of airing them on social media.
