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Amid row over Roy Mathew's death, Army jawan says officers harassed him when refused to do 'Sahayak' job

I was punished for raising complaints, says jawan raising voice against the 'Sahayak' system.

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Amid row over the death of Lance Naik Roy Mathew, an Army jawan has claimed that he was harassed by officers for refusing to do the 'Sahayak job', reported CNNNews18.

The video comes a week after Mathew, who featured in a news portal's sting video on the Army's controversial 'buddy' or Sahayak system, found dead in an abandoned barrack in Nashik district of Maharashtra.

The jawan who identified himself as Sindhav Jogidas was allegedly forced to work as 'Sahayak' (Orderly) as part of punishment for returning late from leave.

 "I was punished for raising complaints. Army is the only service where combatants were forced to serve officers," Jogidas said.

Stating that he did not wanted to speak about the Army in public, he said, "I am sure that Army won't accept these complaints, but I had no other choice but to raise my complaint in public."

 "The officers started harassing me when I refused to do the Sahayak job. I was kept under Army custody for 7 days. Army officers treat soldiers as their 'slaves'," he told the news channel

Jogidas has also approached Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and Defence Ministry to raise the issue.

He also alleged that he did not get any reply even after complaining on the WhatsApp number given by army for grievance redressal.

In January 2017, with a number of security personnel, including one from the army, raising grievances through social media, Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat had asked his men to directly communicate to him through the "suggestion cum grievance" boxes that will be set up across the formations. 

Earlier, Roy Mathew allegedly appeared and exposed the system in which jawans were often subjected to tasks by officers including walking dogs and taking children to school.

A troubled Roy had called his family after the sting operation was aired on the television, and had conveyed that his life was in danger, following which he mysteriously disappeared.

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