Army officers, jawans face off again in J&K
NEW DELHI: The Army has been jolted by yet another shocking breach of discipline with a grim stand-off erupting between officers and jawans of an armoured unit after a soldier committed suicide at a military camp in the border district of Samba in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday morning.
Sources said "tension" between the officers and jawans of the 16th Cavalry had been "simmering for quite some time" without any corrective steps being taken. The suicide proved to be the tipping point. "Angry jawans then ganged up to surround the officers and their residences in protest, leading to a prolonged face-off," said a source.
A report by the Defence Institute of Psychological Research had earlier held that "perceived humiliation and harassment, over and above occupational and familial causes", at the hands of their superiors often serves as the final "trigger" for jawans in stress-related cases in the armed forces.