Award for Major who tied Kashmiri to jeep

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 22

Major Leetul Gogoi, who was accused of tying a Kashmiri man on the bonnet of a jeep to ward off stone pelters in Kashmir, has been given a commendation certificate by the Army Chief for “sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations”.

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The award is seen as a backing for the action of the officer, who belongs to the 53 Rashtriya Rifles, even as the Army maintained that a court of inquiry (CoI) into the incident was “"under finalisation.”

The Army Chief's “Commendation Card” is considered a prestigious award. It  is given for distinguished services and devotion to duty.

Read: Probe against major in human shield case to continue: J&K Police

Two days ago, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had, in an opinion piece in a newspaper, said the Major deserved a distinguished services medal for using a human shield against stone-pelters in Kashmir.

Major Gogoi was in the spotlight after a video, shot during the April 9 Srinagar Lok Sabha bypoll and posted on the social media, showed a man tied on the bonnet of an Army jeep at Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir. 

A probe by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which lodged an FIR against the security forces in light of the incident, revealed that it was Major Gogoi who had tied the man to the jeep's bonnet as a “human shield”. 

A court of inquiry was ordered subsequently. 

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, referring to the incident on Friday, had backed the officer, saying it should not be forgotten that the officer had the responsibility to save the lives of those involved in the election process as well as the crowd that had gathered. 

“Let us not forget the Army is a responsible institution,” he had emphasised.