The price of truth: Jawan Mathew. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said that the police is probing the death of Lance Naik Roy Mathew, whose decomposed body was found in an army barrack days after he featured in a sting video criticizing the 'Sahayak' system in the army. The minister refused to comment further on the issue.
Responding to supplementary in the Lok Sabha on the mysterious death of the soldier, the Defence Minister on Friday said commenting on the issue will prejudice the ongoing police investigation. He also said that the ministry was holding detailed consultations on the issue of the Sahayak or buddy system in the army and a solution to the issue would be found.
“The incident has happened in Deolali. The police have registered the crime and they are investigating it in detail. It would be prejudicial to make any statement on an issue which is being independently inquired into by the police,” Parrikar said, adding that it was an “isolated incident”.
The comments came in response to a supplementary question by N.K. Premchandran, who raised the issue of the Kerala soldier’s death, and said: “We have great suspicion that all this is because of the ill-treatment, mental stress and strain meted out to him by defence officials.”
He sought an enquiry into the death. Mathew, 33, had been reported missing since February 25 and his decomposed body was found hanging from the ceiling of the abandoned barrack in Deolali Cantonment, Nashik, on March 3.
Parrikar said he did not want to comment on the issue. “It is a matter of police investigation and I do not want to prejudice it by making a statement,” the Minister said.
“But I can very clearly say that as far as ‘Sahayak’ system is concerned, the Army has been told to work out an appropriate mechanism to ensure that the particular complaint which is coming up is addressed. I can assure the House that we are already in the process of having detailed consultations and we will find some solution to the issue which has been brought up,” the Minister said.
Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre, responding to the question earlier, said there were a few incidents of complaints by jawans, but it did not reflect the collective mood of the soldiers.
“There is a well laid down mechanism for feedback and redressal of grievances in armed forces. Starting from daily roll calls where the grievances can be addressed to the Company Commander, the CO of the unit collectively addresses through Sainik Sammelan at least once a month and resolves the problems faced by the jawans,” Bhamre said.
Earlier this week, another soldier – Sep Sindhav Jogidas Lakhubhai of the Army Medical Corps – took to social media to attack the ‘batman’ or Sahayak system in the Army. Earlier, Lance Naik Yagya Pratap had posted a video on the same issue.
Mathew, who belonged to Karuvelil in Kollam, Kerala, was posted as an orderly attached with a Colonel at the Deolali School of Artillery.
In the sting video, Mathew had reportedly said that higher officials allegedly mistreated their ‘Sahayaks’ and forced them to do petty jobs like polishing shoes, washing clothes and taking their pet dogs for walks.
The alleged sting video, captured by hidden cameras with faces masked, had gone viral on social media networks, as he raised questions on the ‘Sahayak System’.
The Army has said both the soldiers were never assigned any Sahayak roles. (IANS)