Army orders court of inquiry into Major Gogoi''s conduct

Tribune News Service

New Delhi/Srinagar, May 25

The Indian Army ordered a court of enquiry on Friday into the conduct of Major Leetul Gogoi following the incident at a hotel in Dalgate Srinagar.  The major had booked a room for himself in the hotel where a woman was scheduled to come and meet him.

The woman has recorded a statement under Section 164 of the CrPC saying she knew Major Gogoi.

Army Chief Bipin Rawat had earlier in the day said exemplary punishment would be given to Major Leetul Gogoi if he was found guilty of “any offence”.

(Read: Hotel fracas: Girl states she met Major of her ‘own will’)

“If Major Gogoi has done something wrong then I can say that he will be given due punishment and the punishment will be such that it will set an example,” Gen Rawat told reporters in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. He arrived on a two-day visit to Kashmir on Thursday to review the security situation. 

On May 23, Gogoi was briefly detained by police in Srinagar after an altercation when he was allegedly trying to enter a hotel with an 18-year-old woman, according to a police official.

“If any officer of the Indian Army is found guilty of any offence, we will take strictest possible action,” Rawat told reporters at Pahalgham while on a visit to the Army Goodwill School. 

“If Major Gogoi has done something wrong, I assure you that he will be awarded punishment at the earliest...the punishment will set an example,” the Army chief said.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police has initiated an inquiry into the incident involving Gogoi, whose decision to tie a civilian to the bonnet of his vehicle in Kashmir last year sparked a row. — With PTI