Soldier who complained of bad food in army canteen put 'under arrest', says wife

An Indian soldier, who had released four clips on YouTube complaining about the poor quality of food being served to them in the army canteen, is being mentally tortured and has been placed under arrest, according to his wife.

Tej Bahadur's videos had gone viral in December when he bemoaned the poor quality and quantity of food, leaving the Indian army red-faced in the public.

The Indian army, on the other hand, told ANI that Bahadur was not arrested but an inquiry had found him "guilty" and recommended "disciplinary action" against him.

But Bahadur's wife Sharmila claimed he was first forced to retire but later his retirement request was scrapped and then was detained by the army.

"He (Bahadur) called up to say that he was asked to retire, but his retirement was also cancelled within one hour, and he was later arrested," the wife alleged, adding that he waiting for her husband to return home on January 31.

"He managed to call up today using someone else's phone (to call me). He was being threatened and mentally tortured," the wife further claimed.

Bahadur's videos on YouTube was taken well in the upper echelons of the Indian army.

Bipin Rawat, who assumed the army reins on December 31, 2016, had told soldiers days later that they should contact him "directly" if they were unsatisfied with the internal redressal system.

"You are violating rules by your act and you could be punished for that," he said on January 15.

The army also said that Bahadur was court-martialled in 2010 for indiscipline but was allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds.

The Indian government had also taken a dim view of the whole episode. An interior ministry inquiry report suggested that there was no "widespread discontent" among the soldiers about the quality of food being served to them. 

(WION with inputs from ANI)