Fresh autopsy ordered on Kerala soldier who featured in ‘Sahayak’ sting video

Thiruvananthapuram, March 4 (IANS) A fresh autopsy was ordered on Saturday on the body of a 33-year-old soldier from Kerala who was reported missing after a sting video on the "abuse" of buddy system in the army and whose body was later found in an abandoned barrack, after his family demanded justice.

Lance Naik Roy Mathew, 33, had been reported missing since February 25 and his decomposed body was found hanging from the ceiling of an abandoned barrack in Deolali Cantonment, Nashik.

"I want justice and I want to know what happened to my husband," Finy, Mathew's wife, said on Saturday at the Thiruvananthapuram airport where his body arrived earlier in the morning.

A relative said: "He was a jawan and served the country for 14 years. The entire episode seems to be mysterious and no one knows what has happened to him. And even after the body arrived, the convention is to immediately drape the coffin in the Indian Tri-colour and that too did not take place."

The relative approached the District Collector seeking permission for a re-post mortem.

"The request came today (Saturday) morning and soon the sanction was given for it. The re-post mortem will be conducted at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College hospital and then the body would be handed over," said Kollam Sub Collector K. Chithra.

Mathew's relatives are deeply upset at the manner in which the Army officials in Deolali handled the case. They say on February 25, Mathew spoke to his wife last and after that calls never got connected. After a few days they were shocked when a call came from the Army unit saying that Mathew is dead.

"We saw some visuals of Mathew which shows that there were injury marks on his feet. We suspect that there is an attempt to cover up the death," said another relative.

Mathew was part of a video on the "Sahayak System", which went viral in the social media.

Hailing from Karuvelil in Kollam, Kerala, he was posted as an orderly attached with a Colonel at the Deolali School of Artillery.

In the video, Mathew had reportedly said that higher officials allegedly mistreated their "Sahayaks" and forced them to do petty jobs like polishing shoes, washing clothes and taking their pet dogs for walks.

The alleged sting video, captured through hidden cameras with faces masked, had gone viral on social media networks, as he raised questions on the "Sahayak System".

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)