New Delhi, Jan 15 (IANS): Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Sunday told soldiers not to air their grievances through social media.

Addressing the Army Day function, he said: "A few colleagues are using social media to share their problems. It affects the morale of the jawans and thereby the army.

"A few of our friends have taken to social media to speak about their complaints. This affects the soldiers deployed at the borders...

"You can be held guilty of doing a crime for what you have done and invite punishment," he warned.

The General went on: "We have the capacity to tackle cyber attacks, yet, we have to be careful against the enemy elements on social media, and also ask our families to be alert about it."

On Friday, the Army chief announced a new grievance redressal system under which complaints would reach him directly while the identity of the complainant would be kept a secret.

The comments come after a Lance Naik alleged in a video that "jawans are being exploited in the Army by officers".

A trooper each from the Border Security Force and a Central Reserve Police Force had also taken to social media to air grievances related to their service conditions.