The police arrest a student during fresh clashes outside a college in Srinagar on Monday. PTI
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”.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)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.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.
Officer who tied man to jeep in Kashmir awarded for counter-insurgency ops
The Army is still to conclude an inquiry into the ‘human shield’ incident.
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 22
Army chief General Bipin Rawat has issued a ‘Commendation Card’ to Major Leetul Gogoi for sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations.Major Gogoi was accused of tying up a Kashmiri youth in front of jeep to ward off stone pelters.
(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)
The award for Major Gogoi is seen as a backing of the action of the officer belonging to the 53 Rashtriya Rifles even as the Army maintained that a court of inquiry (CoI) into the incident is “under finalisation”.
“Major Gogoi has been awarded Chief of Army Staff’s Commendation Card for sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations,” Army spokesperson Col Aman Anand said.
Sources said Major Gogoi was given the award during Gen Rawat’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir last week.
They said the CoI into the incident is still under finalisation.The Army Chief’s ‘Commendation Card’ is considered a prestigious award and is given for distinguished services and devotion to duties.A video, showing the man tied to the army vehicle during polling in the Srinagar Lok Sabha by-election on April 9, had triggered a public outcry, prompting the Army to institute a probe.The CoI was tasked to look into the circumstance that prompted Major Gogoi to tie the Kashmiri youth to the jeep’s bonnet as a “human shield”. — With PTI inputs
