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Journalist Booked For Sting Video On 'Sahayak' System After Which Jawan Committed Suicide

She was booked for abetment to suicide.
Screenshot from YouTube

The Quint journalist Poonam Aggarwal has been booked for abetment to suicide, criminal trespass and under sections of the Official Secrets Act in connection with the death of Lance Nayak Roy Mathew last month.

Aggarwal was part of the sting operation where Mathew was shown complaining about the 'Sahayak' system in the army, where he had alleged that sahayaks were treated badly and were made to do household chores by senior officers.

The case was registered on a complaint from the Army in Nashik.

The Indian Express report quoted a senior officer at the Maharashtra police headquarters as saying, "They have given an application expressing concern over the journalist entering a prohibited area with a spy camera and filming an Army premises which is not allowed. After studying the application, a case has been registered."

The newspaper reported that the journalist has revealed her sources who led her to shoot the sting video during questioning by the police.

After his death, Mathew's family had blamed the media and said that he was asked leading question because of which he had said what he did.

His uncle Thomas Kutti had told India Todaythat Mathew felt harassed. "He called on February 23, 24 and finally on 25th, at about 8pm, he called his wife and was crying. He felt harassed. He feared his career would be ruined because his conversation with the journalist was telecasted and perhaps he was asked to explain his actions by the army."

A statement from the army also indicated that the "leading questions" by the media through which Mathew revealed information may have been the reason for him to commit suicide.

The Quint, had meanwhile, removed the sting operation video, that went viral, from their website and had refused to comment on the issue.

Mathew was found hanging in his room on Thursday and was said to have been missing from his artillery since February 25. The 33-year-old was stationed at the Deolali Cantonment of Maharashtra.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.