Lance Naik Yagya Pratap Singh has been sent to hospital for psychological evaluation
A soldier who posted a video on YouTube complaining that he was forced to "wash clothes, polish boots and walk dogs" for senior officers, is being evaluated psychologically by the army.
A day after new Army Chief General Bipin Rawat warned of serious disciplinary action against soldiers using social media to complain, sources have confirmed that Lance Naik Yagya Pratap Singh has been taken to Military Hospital for an assessment of whether he is mentally sound.
The army, sources say, has used its "Form 10" mechanism for "aberrant behavior".
"If the soldier is found unstable, he will be provided specialist psychological care," the sources said.
But he may not face punishment; sources say an act of indiscipline may need to be overlooked if attributed to a disturbed mental state.
General Rawat had yesterday warned, "A few colleagues are using social media to draw the media's attention to their problems. It affects the morale of the jawans and thereby the army... You could be punished for the steps that you have taken."
In the past few days, there has been a rash of videos on social media posted by personnel of the army or the Border Security Force or the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Lance Naik Singh, not the first to go public with his rant, had said, "It should not be felt that a solder is a helper who will walk memsaab's dogs, wash clothes and do boot polish. I want to ask the PM, why are they preparing for my court martial? What is my crime?"
Singh said he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he was harassed and tortured by his seniors the moment there was a reply asking for an inquiry.
Earlier, a BSF soldier Tej Bahadur Yadav posted Facebook videos alleging poor quality food and near starvation on the front-lines. Then a CRPF constable posted a message to the PM on YouTube, alleging discrimination compared to the army and abysmal pay.