India orders probe into allegations of poor-quality food

The Indian government has ordered a high-level probe into videos put out by a soldier of the country's border guards on social media, alleging that troops posted in the frontline and other inhospitable terrain are served inadequate and poor-quality food.

"I have seen a video regarding a BSF (Border Security Force) jawan's (soldier) plight. I have asked the HS (Home Secretary) to immediately seek a report from the BSF & take appropriate action," Home Minister Rajnath Singh has tweeted.

In fact, Tej Bahadur Yadav, the 40-year-old soldier of BSF, which mans the country's borders, has posted three videos on social networking site Facebook, which have now all gone viral.

"This is breakfast -- one burnt parantha (bread made in oil) and a glass of tea... no butter, no jam, no pickle...," he says in one of the videos. In another video, he films dinner being cooked in semi-darkness for the troops posted in the Line of Control, the de-facto border with Pakistan.

"This is the quality of the food we get... we are on duty for 11 hours in the snow and at times we have to stand throughout... how can a jawan do his duty? Often soldiers go to bed on an empty stomach," Yadav says in another video.

However, the BSF Tuesday said that the soldier's service record is not good and he has a troubled past. "He is an alcoholic. But we are probing his allegations and will take action after we get the report of the investigation," said a senior official.

Source:Xinhua