A BSF jawan, deployed along the Indo-Pak border in Jammu and Kashmir, has alleged that our troops are facing “cruelty” as they are served bad quality food and even have to go on an “empty stomach” at times. Videos of his allegations have gone viral. The soldier claimed that though the government procures essential items for them, top officials often tend to sell those for a good price. It results in troops being deprived of necessities.

While the authenticity of these claims has to be verified, the allegations may well be true. In fact, rarely do security personnel speak out about issues troubling them — serving soldiers and officers are gover­ned by a strict code to not communicate with the media. They communicate via their official spokespersons.