Major Leetul Gogoi, who had tied a Kashmiri man to a military vehicle as a precaution against pelting of stones during polling in the Srinagar Lok Sabha by-election on April 9, has awarded a commendation by Army chief General Bipin Rawat during his recent visit to Jammu and Kashmir. The award of the COAS (Chief of Army Staff) commendation card is just a notch bellow gallantry medals. The Army chief’s decision comes even as the court of inquiry against Major Leetul Gogoi continues and in the situation of intense criticism of the action from various sections.
Major Leetul Gogoi of 53 Rashtriya Rifles, in the eye of a storm after his controversial decision of tying up a Kashmiri man to his jeep as a human shield. The human shield identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar, triggering public outcry and which also prompted the Army to start a probe to look into the circumstances that led Major Gogoi to the incident. However, the court of inquiry about April 9 human shield incident is under finalization.
According to Army source, “while awarding him all factors including his notable performance and overall emerging indicators of the court of inquiry has been well-considered”. The officer criticized by many across the country for his action but he had also received an endorsement from various quarters too as doing his best under the difficult circumstances to rescue the trapped staff. He showed an effective out-of-the-box thinking.
According to Major Gogoi, when he reached to the polling station in Budgam to check the security situation, the crowd started pelting stones and throwing petrol bombs at them. He wanted the smooth conduct of by-polls, but it was proving very difficult in the face of over a 1,000 stone-pelters. Somehow he managed to rescue polling staff and trying to escort them away to safety and save the local people. He said that the man who tied to the jeep was standing at a distance of 30 meters from his vehicle, as soon as he tied the man the pelting of stone are stopped. The incident had drawn criticism from many for violating human rights and Geneva Convention.
The Kashmiri man identified as Farooq Dar said that he was not a stone pelter and he was, in fact, one of the very few who had cast their vote and proceeding towards his sister village when he caught by the Army personnel. After the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Omar Abdullah also urgently demanded action against the Major involved in the incident. The J&K Police subsequently lodged a FIR (Frist Information Report) in the case on April 13. The Army Court of Inquiry (CoI) into the episode is still not complete, but they did not recommend any action against the officer and court martial is out of the question and ordered to find the circumstances of the incident.
