Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 21: A religious teacher of Indian Army, whose actual place of posting is in Kashmir valley, has been working in Jammu as a Publicity Representative (PR) making his political contacts.
On repeated occasions, this religious teacher could be seen meeting with politicians, police officers and other public personalities in Jammu and releasing the photographs and long press-releases of these meetings to media.
Sources informed Early Times that the actual place of posting of this Religious Teacher of the Army is in Kashmir valley. "But from the press releases and the photographs shared on the social networking site, most of the time this RT is in Jammu, working overtime to make contacts with politicians.
"The RT gifts a booklet to every politician, IPS or IAS officers he comes across and felicitates them. Photographs are clicked and press releases along with photographs are circulated to newspapers with name of the Army's religious teacher", a source said, while sharing the records of the press-releases and photographs published in various newspapers.
"It appears that the Army's Religious Teachers has been making his contacts with the politicians, bureaucrats, IPS officers probably to get some political benefits in coming years", sources said.
Sources in the Army said that a serving army personnel could not be involved in such activities like meeting politicians and organizing programmes. "It is beyond comprehension why the Army authorities have not taking any action?", the sources questioned, adding that if such activities were not be stopped, it could lead to incidents of gross indiscipline.
Pertinently, Religious teachers are recruited as Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) including Pandit, Molvi, Pastor, Granthi. They preach religious scriptures to troops and conduct various rituals at Regimental/Unit religious institutions. Their duties also include attending funerals, ministering to the sick in hospitals, reading prayers with the convalescents, visiting soldiers undergoing sentence, giving special religious instructions to the children and enlisted boys besides attending generally to the religious institutions and welfare of the officers, soldiers and their families. |
