CRPF jawan who went on Facebook rant against Rajnath Singh does it again

CRPF constable Pankaj Mishra is on hunger strike and has a host of demands including equality in service and facilities.

A CRPF jawan who hit the headlines with a Facebook rant against Union home minister Rajnath Singh after a Maoist ambush in April has questioned the political leadership again over service conditions in a fresh post.

CRPF constable Pankaj Mishra, posted in Assam’s Jorhat, said in an October 7 Facebook post that he had started a hunger strike demanding jawans be treated the way officers are, fixed work hours, weekly offs, end of physical punishments and same quality of food for all. (HT)

In a Facebook video post on October 7, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) constable Pankaj Mishra said he was posted in Jorhat, Assam, and had started a hunger strike.

“For last four months, I am suspended and caged in this camp,” he told HT over phone on Thursday.

A home ministry spokesperson said they had not seen the video and would respond after verifying it.

Mishra, who surrendered before a senior officer of the force in Delhi in May following directions of the Delhi high court, said no one had come to him to discuss the grievances he was airing.

His demands include call for jawans be treated the way officers are, fixed work hours, weekly offs, end of physical punishments, and same quality of food for all.

“After I surrendered, a top officer told me to list my grievances. I gave him a list of demands of CRPF personnel and problems we face across the country. The officer said all the demands would be addressed. I was posted here (Jorhat) and started my duty, but two months later, I was told about my suspension,” he added.

Mishra alleged that some men from the force assaulted him for “speaking against” the home minister.

He said seniors took away his phone and he shot his latest video by borrowing one from a friend. “When I uploaded the video, they thought they would be questioned and returned my phone,” Mishra added.

Mishra’s relative Abhay Kumar was among 25 CRPF personnel killed in the Maoist attack at Sukma in Chhattisgarh on April 24.

A native of Bihar’s Shahpur in Ara, about 50 km west of Patna, Mishra was posted at Durgapur in West Bengal when he came out with the Facebook rant against Singh in April.

Mishra’s video is the latest addition to the growing tribe of security personnel who have spoken out against alleged government apathy via social media platforms.

In January, a video posted by BSF trooper Tej Bahadur Yadav about poor quality of food served to jawans, set the social media afire.

Later, a CRPF constable – Jeet Singh – asked why paramilitary personnel were not being accorded facilities on a par with their counterparts in the Army while they were performing similar tasks.

In another social media video that surfaced earlier this year, Army lance naik Yagya Pratap Singh alleged harassment by superiors for writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over problems faced by soldiers.

Yadav has been dismissed from service.