Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 5
The Army has handed “loss of seniority” by six months to Major Leetul Gogoi as punishment for “fraternising” with a local woman in Srinagar last year and for “being away from the place of duty while in an operational area”.
He will also be posted out of Kashmir as his 30-month tenure with Rashtriya Rifles has ended. Maj Gogoi had hit the headlines after he tied a man in front of a jeep, purportedly as a shield against stone-pelters, during polling for the Srinagar Lok Sabha byelection on April 9, 2017.
The court martial proceedings against Maj Gogoi were completed in March and the punishment needed to be ratified by the Army headquarters, which has been done now, sources said. The punishment is classified as “severe reprimand”. The six-month loss of seniority will apply for life.
As this period will not be counted towards his service, he will now get lesser pension on retirement. He will not get the next rank of Lt Colonel as per schedule on completing 13 years in service. This will happen six months later and he will, in turn, become the juniormost officer in his batch.
Maj Gogoi was posted with the RR in March 2016 and posted out in October 2018. Since then, he had been attached with the Srinagar headquartered “Victor Force”, pending inquiry.
The Major was detained by the J&K Police on May 23 last year from a Srinagar hotel along with a local woman and another soldier. The detained woman was 19 years old and had gone with the officer of her own volition, Jammu and Kashmir Police had said. Hence, no police case was made out. However, the Army rules did not allow Maj Gogoi to be let off without punishment.
During the court martial proceedings, the woman expressed her unwillingness to depose. The court martial process against Maj Gogoi’s driver Sameer Malla, who was facing charges of unauthorised absence from the unit, has been completed. He has been given a “severe reprimand”.
Immediately after the incident came to light last year, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat had said exemplary punishment would be given to Maj Gogoi if he was found guilty of any offence.