Kashmir human shield row: Army Major Leetul Gogoi, who tied man to jeep, honoured

New Delhi: An army major, who had tied a Kashmiri man to a jeep in Kashmir, has been awarded by army chief Gen Bipin Rawat for his ‘sustained efforts’ in counter-insurgency operations.

The army chief’s Commendation Card for Major Leetul Gogoi comes even as a court of inquiry into the tying of the Kashmiri man to the jeep’s bonnet purportedly as a shield against stone-pelters was going on.

“Major Gogoi has been awarded Chief of Army Staff’s Commendation Card for sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations,” army spokesperson Aman Anand said. Gogoi was awarded during Gen Rawat’s recent visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

A video, showing the man tied to the army vehicle during polling in the Srinagar Lok Sabha by-election on 9 April, had triggered a public outcry, prompting the army to institute a probe.

The CoI was tasked to look into the circumstance that prompted Major Gogoi to tie the Kashmiri youth to the jeep’s bonnet as a “human shield”.