Saved many people’s lives by tying ring-leader of stone-petlers to jeep: Major Leetul Gogoi

Mangalore Today News Network

Srinagar, May 23, 2017 : Giving his side of the story, Major Leetul Gogoi, who had tied a man to a jeep in Kashmir purportedly as a shield against stone pelters, said on Tuesday that the idea saved lives of many people.

"Four men and I went to a polling booth to check the security situation and then some people started pelting stones at us. Then stone pelters started throwing petrol bombs at us, even from rooftops. I took that step just to save local people," Major Gogoi said.

He added, "We wanted the smooth conduct of bypolls. My vehicle as stuck in mud and stone pelting had started by then. I used my megaphone and requested access but they didn’t budge."

As per the major, the man tied to the Army jeep, was the ’’ring leader" of the stone pelters.

"Farooq Ahmed Dar was the ring leader and we caught hold of him after chasing him down," he said.

The Major reiterated, "With this idea (of tying up the stone pelter on the jeep) I saved many people’s lives.

He also revealed that he had received a call from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) who had informed him that 400-500 people were pelting stones in Bandipora.

He said that he had reached the spot within 30 minutes and took control of the situation with ITBP’s help.

Major Gogoi, belonging to the 53 Rashtriya Rifles, has been honoured with the Army Chief’s ’Commendation Card’ for his ’sustained efforts’ in counter- insurgency operations, even as the Army maintained that a court of inquiry (CoI) into the incident is "under finalisation".

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 force to institute a probe.

"Major Gogoi has been awarded the Chief of Army Staff’s Commendation Card for his sustained efforts in counter- insurgency operations," Army spokesperson Col Aman Anand had said yesterday.

All factors including notable performance of Major Gogoi and "overall emerging indicators" of the Court of Inquiry, have been "well-considered" while conferring the award on him, Army sources said, in clear indication of the Army’s support to his prompt decision to tie the man purportedly to protect soldiers from stone-throwers.

The sources said Major Gogoi was given the award during Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir last week, as per PTI.

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 duty.

The CoI was tasked with a probe into the circumstances that prompted Major Gogoi to tie the Kashmiri youth to the jeep’s bonnet as a "human shield".

Courtesy:Zeenews