Army sahayak in sting found hanging

New Delhi: An army sahayak's body was found days after he had featured in a media sting against the "buddy system", pitting the force against the media. Amid speculation that Lance Naik Roy Mathew may have been targeted because of his involvement in the sting, the army clarified that since the identities of the personnel in the clip were hidden, it could not have ordered an inquiry against any of them. However, PTI quoted unnamed sources as saying that Roy had sent a text message - his last - to his superior officer saying: "Sorry." The army said that Roy, 33, reportedly found hanging in abandoned barracks in Maharashtra's Devlali cantonment yesterday, likely committed suicide. It blamed the media. "Preliminary investigations have now revealed that the suicide may be the result of a series of events which were triggered by media personnel managing to video-graph the deceased by asking leading questions on his duties as a buddy without his knowledge," the statement said. "It is very likely that the guilt factor of letting down his superiors or conveying false impression to an unknown individual led to take the extreme step." The clarification came after Roy's family told the media in Kollam, Kerala, that the soldier had been terrified after the sting video was aired on local television channels and went viral across social media platforms. Roy's wife Fini told reporters: "He had called me and was upset about what was being shown on television. He was crying. I told him not to worry. Later when I tried calling him, his phone was switched off. I want to know what happened." The video showed Roy and several other jawans complaining that sahayaks - also known as buddies, batmen and orderlies - were made to work like domestic hands by the officers they were attached to and their wives. They had to walk their dogs and ferry their children from school. The army statement said Roy had been missing since February 25. He was "declared Absent Without Leave and (an) apprehension roll was registered with the police". The police said the body had begun decomposing, suggesting Roy may have died a couple of days earlier. A police complaint has been lodged and the army has ordered its own probe. The sting, and a previous video circulated in January by a sahayak's wife, had turned the spotlight on the "buddy system", a colonial hand-me-down, and its possible abuse. Richa Singh had alleged that her husband, Lance Naik Yagya Pratap Singh, was being harassed since complaining to the Prime Minister about being made to wash officers' cars and clean their toilets and kitchens. A proliferation in such "complaint videos'' across the forces, circulated via social media, had become an embarrassment for the services early this year. It had led the army chief, General Bipin Rawat, to urge soldiers to address their grievances through the system instead of airing them in public. He had also described the "buddy system" as part of the fabric of the army: "I take care of my buddy and the buddy takes care of me." The "buddy system" was intended to free an officer planning and leading an operation from carrying load, including radio transmitters. The job of doing this heavy lifting was assigned to his sahayak but, over the years, officers on family posting too began to use batmen's services. In April 2008, then defence minister A.K. Antony had proposed abolishing the system. Reluctant to impose the decision on the army, he had asked the force to take the initiative.