Army rewards ‘human shield’ Major, declares intent

NEW DELHI: Major Leetul Gogoi, in the eye of a storm after he controversially decided to truss up a civilian on his jeep’s bonnet as a “human shield” to rescue over a dozen security and election personnel from a stone-pelting mob in Jammu & Kashmir in April, has been awarded by Army chief General Bipin Rawat.
The award of the chief of army staff commendation card, which is just a notch below gallantry medals, to Gogoi is a deliberate statement of intent by the government and the Army about their hard-nosed policy in dealing with the worsening situation in the Kashmir Valley.It also brushes aside criticism that the act of Gogoi, who rose from the ranks as a jawan to get commissioned as an officer in the Army Service Corps, violated human rights and the Geneva Convention.
The government and Army are of the belief that no space should be given to either militants or stone-pelters, who actively try to disrupt counter-insurgency operations,” a senior officer said. Rawat, during his visit to the Kashmir Valley last week, told his top commanders that he decided to award the COAS commendation card to Gogoi, who is in his late-30s, for “his sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations as well as his presence of mind and initiative to prevent bloodshed” during the human shield episode in Budgam district on April 9.
Interestingly, the Army court of inquiry (CoI) into the episode is still not complete, even though the brass from the very beginning maintained that the Major chose the “safest course of action” to save lives in a volatile situation, as was earlier reported by TOI. “While awarding Major Gogoi, all factors including notable performance of the officer and overall emerging indicators of the court of inquiry have been well-considered,” the officer said. Major Gogoi had led his company of 53 Rashtriya Rifles (Punjab Regiment) to Beerwa after receiving an SOS from the ITBP, police and election personnel trapped in a polling booth there, which was surrounded by angry stone-pelters, some of whom were positioned on rooftops, during the byelection for Srinagar Lok Sabha seat on April 9. Army officers contend that Major Gogoi showed “effective out-of-the-box thinking” to rescue the trapped personnel without firing a shot in a situation that could have easily spiralled out of control.
But after J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and others demanded action against the soldiers involved in the incident, J&K Police had lodged an FIR in the case on April 13. Military personnel, however, cannot be prosecuted without the Union government’s sanction due to the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act being in force in the strife-torn state. The Army said the CoI, a fact-finding body headed by a colonel, is ascertaining the circumstances that led to the incident. “The CoI is examining the veracity of the complaints and the video footage, while also recording the statements of the personnel rescued from the polling booth as well as some civilians,” an officer said. Coming at a time of consistent demand from certain sections of the opposition to initiate talks with separatists, the commendation card for Major Gogoi is a statement that the government does not want security forces to be hamstrung as they try to establish “strategic dominance” in parts of the Valley worst-affected by militancy. Earlier, the Army chief had said that those who pelt stones to disrupt operations against terrorists would be treated as terror collaborators.