Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 12

Northern Command chief Lt Gen Devraj Anbu visited forward posts of Siachen, the highest battlefield in the world, on Wednesday.He was accompanied by 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen PJS Pannu.Interacting with the troops at the forward posts in high altitude, he appreciated the good work by them in challenging conditions and inhospitable terrain. He was briefed on the operational preparedness and security situation in the region by the Corps Commander and other Commanders on ground.While at the Siachen Base Camp, the Northern Command chief operationalised Avalanche Panthers, Mountain Rescuers, a highly skilled force with in-depth knowledge, adaptability with local terrain and weather conditions and capability to respond in the shortest possible time for rescue operations, especially in glaciated terrain.The team was raised on December 6, 2016, at the Siachen Base Camp comprising mainly of the troops from the Ladakh Scouts, who being the “sons of the soil” are well adapted to terrain and weather conditions prevalent in this high altitude region.

BSF ADG visits camp, enquires about food quality

Poonch, January 12

Kamal Nayan Choubey, Additional Director General of BSF, today visited the BSF Camp Mandi and interacted with soldiers and officials after a jawan’s complaint of poor quality food being served to them on LOC. The inquiry was initiated after a constable posted a series of videos on social media about the poor quality of food served to the jawans.Sources said the ADG visited the BSF camp in Khet and individually interacted with the jawans deployed there, besides talking to the BSF and Army officials monitoring the area. He stayed at Mandi for over six hours.Later, Choubey visited the Unit headquarter Mandi and held a meeting with higher officials and inquired about the issue.“I talked to the jawans posted in the Khet location and enquired about the quality of food served to them and all the jawans expressed satisfaction on the quality of food. The inquiry is underway and necessary action will be taken if any officer is found guilty,” he said. Sourced said the ADG’s visit was made possible only after Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s intervention into the matter.The Home Ministry had asked the BSF to inquire into the matter and take necessary action.‘All jawans expressed satisfaction’I talked to the jawans posted in the Khet location and enquired about the quality of food served to them and all the jawans expressed satisfaction on the quality of food. The inquiry is underway and necessary action will be taken if any officer is found guilty. —Kamal Nayan Choubey, ADG, BSF

BSF jawan’s wife fear for his life

Says he is under pressure to withdraw plaint

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rewari, January 12

Sharmila Yadav, wife of BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav, said that her husband was under pressure to withdraw his statement and apologise for his act.In a video uploaded on Facebook, Yadav claimed that inferior quality food was being served to soldiers at the LoC.“My husband is under immense stress ever since he brought the plight of BSF jawans to the fore as he is being forced by senior officers not only to withdraw his words but also to apologise,” said Sharmila who talked to her husband twice over phone today.Sharmila, who works in a private company in Bawal industrial town, demanded security for her husband. She said his life was under threat following exposure of misdeeds of the senior officers.Yadav’s son Rohit said that his father had last evening told him that he was feeling insecure there due to pressure being mounted by senior officers to withdraw the complaint.Meanwhile, Yadav’s father Sher Singh said that the BSF officers had been levelling false allegations against his son to protect their skin.“My son is right on his part as everyone has the right to fight for their rights. My father was a freedom fighter and had been a soldier of the Azad Hind Fauz,” he said.Krishan Dev, elder brother of Yadav, said his brother had to move retirement application following harassment caused by his officers for raising his voice against them. However, he did not want to retire.“Yadav went back to his posting station on December 19 last year and told me that his officers harass him for raising the issue of bad quality of food,” he added.Yadav’s mother Nihal Kaur said that her son always complained of inferior quality of food whenever he came home on leave.