Major Gogoi guilty of ‘fraternizing’ with Kashmiri woman, court orders Army to act
On May 23, Maj. Gogoi was detained by police following an altercation at the hotel in Srinagar where he was allegedly trying to enter with an 18-year-old woman.
New Delhi August 27: A Court of Inquiry (CoI) on Monday held Major Leetul Gogoi guilty in the Srinagar hotel incident case, wherein he was briefly detained by the police after being seen with a local woman, and issued orders to initiate disciplinary action against him.
Maj Gogoi was detained by police in May following an altercation when he was allegedly trying to enter a Srinagar hotel with an 18-year-old woman.
The officer, who was at the Centre of the human shield row after his decision to tie a civilian to the bonnet of his vehicle in Kashmir last year, will now face summary of evidence before court martial proceedings are initiated against him, the sources said.
The CoI, has held him accountable for “fraternizing” with a local in spite of instructions to the contrary and “being away from the place of duty while in operational area”, they said.
The CoI. had submitted its findings to the convening authority earlier this month following which further proceedings have been initiated, the sources said.
The Army had ordered the CoI. following the May 23 incident. Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat had said in Pahalgam that exemplary punishment would be given to Gogoi if he was found guilty of “any offence”.
Maj. Gogoi had hit the headlines last year after he tied a man to a jeep in Kashmir purportedly as a shield against stone pelters during polling in the Srinagar Lok Sabha by-election on April 9.
Rawat had supported the young officer’s action and honored him with the Army chief’s ‘Commendation Card’ for his ‘sustained efforts’ in counter-insurgency operations.
