MUMBAI – The Indian army officer who was lampooned for tying a Kashmiri youth to the bonnet of a jeep in Jammu and Kashmir has been awarded the Army Chief Commendation Card for sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations.
Major Leetul Gogoi, who was expected to face trial for using Kashmiri boy as a human shield instead was awarded by Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat during his recent visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
“Major Gogoi has been awarded Chief of Army Staff’s Commendation Card for sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations,” Army spokesperson Aman Anand said.
The police officer came under flak after a video showing a Kashmiri boy tied to the bonnet of army jeep during April 9 Srinagar Lok Sabha by-poll went viral.
Gogoi was identified as the man behind such cruel act after a first information report (FIR) was filed in the Beerwah police station in Budgam district where the horrific incident took place.
Indian defence minister Arun Jaitley also lauded the efforts of army official saying ‘ it was the officer’s responsibility to save the lives of those involved in the by-election that day as well as the crowd that had gathered.’
Former J-K chief minister Omar Abdullah had tweeted the video that stumped the video and exposed the true face of Indian democracy.
https://twitter.com/abdullah_omar/status/852746966110945282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.dailypakistan.com.pk%2Fpakistan%2Fjk-police-file-fir-against-army-for-tying-kashmiri-youth-to-jeep-as-human-shield%2F
The man strapped to the jeep in the video was identified as 26-year-old Farooq Ahmad Dar, who on April 9 showed up outside a polling booth in Arizal’s Chill Bras area, defying a separatist boycott call.
Dar claimed that he never pelted stones at security forces. Detailing the incident, he said that he was pulled from his motorcycle by army personnel, tied to the front of the vehicle and driven around from village to village for hours.
‘I was tied to the front of the jeep. On my chest, a white paper was tucked under the rope. I could only see my name written on it,’ Dar said, further adding that ‘On the way, soldiers were shouting to people, ‘come throw stones at one of your own’. People were running away. They were scared. I was told not to utter a word to anyone or they would shoot me.’
