Lawmaker presses Marine Corps to determine if hazing led to recruit's death

A Michigan lawmaker has asked the Marine Corps’ top general if hazing was a factor in a recruit's death at the service’s East Coast training depot.

Rep. Debbie Dingell has been in close contact with the family of Raheel Siddiqui, 20, since he died March 18 while assigned to the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, according to her office. Dingell represents Taylor, Michigan, where Siddiqui lived before going to boot camp.

"It is our shared responsibility to ensure there is a prompt and unbiased inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death," Dingell wrote in an April 4 letter to Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller.
No foul play is suspected in the death of Siddiqui, who fell nearly 40 feet in a barracks stairwell, said Ed Buice, a spokesman for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

But Dingell has asked Neller if Siddiqui was bullied while at Parris Island.

“Some are concerned that hazing may have been involved in the death of Private Siddiqui,” Dingell said in her letter. ”Has the Marine Corps received any indication that any hazing occurred in this instance? Does the Marine Corps have any policies in place to prevent and deter hazing from happening at basic training?”
Dingell also asked if the commander of the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion at Parris Island, who was fired March 31, had any interactions with Siddiqui.

Lt. Col. Joshua Kissoon was relieved of command after being investigated for allegations of misconduct. Col. Paul Cucinotta, commanding officer of the Recruit Training Regiment, decided to fire Kissoon on March 17, the day before Siddiqui died.

“Why was Lt. Col. Kissoon relieved of his duties?” Dingell wrote in her letter to Neller. “Was there any indication of his not being sensitive enough to the needs of recruits?”

A spokesman for Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island said the Marine Corps Inspector General’s office's investigation into Kissoon was not related to Siddiqui.
The command inspector general at Parris Island received the investigation Feb. 23 and Siddiqui arrived at Parris Island on March 7, said Capt. Gregory Carroll, who said further information about the allegations against Kissoon would need to be requested through the Freedom of Information Act.

In her letter to Neller, Dingell asked what the time line is for NCIS to complete its investigation into Siddiqui’s death. She also asked if the Marine Corps will share all relevant records of Siddiqui’s death with his congressman and family at the appropriate time.

"Answers to these questions will give the family comfort during these difficult times and will help Congress conduct oversight of this incident," she wrote.

Neller has received Dingell's letter, said Neller's spokesman Lt. Col. Eric Dent.

"We don't discuss the details of correspondence between the Commandant and members of Congress, but the letter was received and we will make sure that the Member's questions are addressed in a timely manner," Dent said in an email to Marine Corps Times.
Siddiqui's family had told a Detroit television station about the investigation into their son's death, but the story was later unpublished after the family requested that it be taken off line, according to the Beaufort Gazette newspaper in South Carolina.

On Monday, a message was on Siddiqui's Facebook page that appeared to be from one of his family members.

"Before my brother left to marine bootcamp he told me and my parents 'Just don't worry, okay?'" the message says. "He was determined to come back as a marine and he did too, im sure he doesn't want any of us to be depressed and broken, his death affected very many people, he was such a loved person and it does hurt that my one and only sibling, especially being my older brother passed at such a young age... but i know he is watching over all his friends and family."