TNS & Agencies

New Delhi, March 7

The Army today snubbed a video posted by a sepoy on the social media slamming the “sahayak” (buddy) system in the Army. The Army said Sepoy Sindhav Jogidas Lakhubhai was recruited as a helper in the Army Medical Corps and was refusing to do his job.In the video, the sepoy alleged “poor amenities”, including food given only to “keep us alive”. Lakhubhai claimed though huge amount of money was given for the welfare of soldiers, the facilities provided were just a “facade”.The Army, due to its operational bases in remote areas, employs “tradesmen” as cooks, helpers, etc. who wear the uniform. But their primary role is carrying out the task they have been employed for, it said.The sepoy, while on duty in the intensive care unit at Military Hospital, Ranikhet, refused to obey the instructions of the Duty Nursing Officer to clean the “bed pan” of a patient. It was a “mandated task of his trade of housekeeper”, the Army said. He gave complaints in writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Director General of Medical Services, Army (DGMS-Army) against the Commanding Officer, MH Ranikhet.The sepoy had sought premature release from the Army, but after counselling he changed his mind. He, however, sought posting to a “field” location. As per his request, he was transferred to a military hospital in Leh last month and was currently on transit to his new posting, the Army maintained. The four-minute video by Lakhubhai, who hails from Gujarat, came a week after Roy Mathew, a jawan who featured in a sting video by a news website against the “sahayak” system, was found dead in a barrack in Nashik. Lakhubhai alleged officers treated soldiers attached to them for household work as their servants.