New Delhi: Major Leetul Gogoi, who had tied a man to a jeep in Kashmir purportedly as a shield against stone-pelters, has been honoured with the Army chief's 'Commendation Card' for his 'sustained efforts' in counter- insurgency operations.
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 the Chief of Army Staff's Commendation Card for his sustained efforts in counter- insurgency operations," Army spokesperson Col Aman Anand said on Monday.
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, as per PTI.
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.
The sources said Major Gogoi was given the award during Army Chief Gen Bipin 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 duty.
Soon #MajorGogoiHonoured started trending on Twitter.
Following are how some people on social media reacted:
#MajorGogoiHonoured @republic @RealArnabG its a great initiative to honour the performance of the forces n grt motivation
— Pankaj Pokhriyal (@pankajp7777) May 22, 2017
Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat awards Medal of Commendation to #MajorGogoiHonoured 2 mins silence for #Presstitutes #Sickulars #Liberals
— Ganpat Amarnath (@aganpat) May 22, 2017
@TimesNow I Salute the Bravery of Major Gogoi... and our Army Chief for recognizing the bravery & wisdom of his men...#MajorGogoiHonoured
— Saroj Kumar (@SarojKarnataka) May 22, 2017
#MajorGogoiHonoured great news
— मीनाksharmaनमो भक्त (@miks1302) May 22, 2017
#majorgogoihonoured congrats to Mj gogoi govt rtly honoured 4 his tactical handling of situation withh no bloodshed jai hind
— Sudheendra K N (@SudheendraKN1) May 22, 2017
#MajorGogoiHonoured
— Umendra Dayal (@UmendraDayal) May 22, 2017
Well deserved honor for his presence of mind to stop mindless confused people
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in india news and world News on Zee News.