Saved many lives by tying ring-leader of stone-pelters to jeep: Major Leetul Gogoi

Major Leetul Gogoi has been honoured by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat with a 'Commendation Card'.

Srinagar: 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 his idea had saved lives of many people. 

Recalling the circumstances in which he had ordered Farooq Ahmed Dar to be tied to the bonnet of the vehicle, Gogoi said about 1200 stone-pelters had surrounded a small group of security personnel at a polling booth in Utligam village of Budgam district on April 9 and if he had ordered firing, there could have been at least 12 casualties.

Gogoi said he and five other Army personnel had gone to that polling booth after a "distress call" about a small group of ITBP personnel and few members of the polling staff being surrounded by a big crowd.

In the mob, the Major said he saw a man who appeared to be the "ring leader" as he was "instigating" the stone-pelters on the day of bypoll to Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency.

"Then I noticed this man (Dar) just 30 meters away from my vehicle, he was the ring leader, and I asked my QRT (Quick Reaction Team) boys to get hold of him. After noticing my boys coming towards him he started running towards the crowd and took the bike to flee the spot," Gogoi, making an appearance on television, rare by a Major-rank officer, said.

He said Army personnel managed to capture Dar and took him inside the polling station.

"But soon there was an announcement made from a mosque after which more people gathered outside the polling station and they even hurled petrol bombs at us," the Major said.

"When we were unable to move out, I announced from my mega-mic to tie the captured man on the bonnet, after which the stone pelting stopped for sometime and we got time to come out and get into our vehicles," he said.

"I did this (tie Farooq Dar on the bonnet of my jeep) to save more lives of the local people," Gogoi maintained.

Meanwhile, the government backed the officer, with Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu saying he saved lives under "exceptional circumstances".

"The action of the Major was taken in exceptional circumstances and the Army has appreciated him. He wanted to save the lives of the Indian citizens including officers who were on election duty. People know who are behind stone pelting in Kashmir. Who is funding them is all exposed by the media. For political reasons, the National Conference is trying to sympathise with such people by criticising the government and Army," Naidu told journalists in Jaipur. 

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 bypolls 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 the officer was given the award during Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat's visit to Jammu and Kashmir last week, as per PTI.

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". 

On the other hand, the Jammu and Kashmir police said the investigation in the matter is still continuing as the FIR had not been quashed.

"The investigation will be done and its result will be shared," IG (Kashmir) Munir Khan said.

(With Agency inputs)