Indian officer commended amid outcry

INDIA’S army said yesterday that it has commended an officer accused of tying a Kashmiri man to a jeep and using him as a human shield, sparking outrage from rights activists.

Video footage showing Farooq Ahmad Dar bound to the front of an army jeep as it led a convoy in Indian-administered Kashmir caused a public outcry in the restive Himalayan region when it went viral last month.

The incident came at a time of heightened tensions in the divided region, one of the world’s most heavily militarised spots, where anti-India sentiment runs deep.

The army said Leetul Gogoi, who is still under investigation for the jeep incident, had been given the award last week for his efforts in counterinsurgency.

“This has been given to Major Leetul Gogoi, who has been deployed in counterinsurgency operations for more than one year,” army spokesman Aman Anand said by phone.

“It has been given for his sustained efforts over a period of time.”

The spokesman refused to address the ongoing investigation.

Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Khurram Parvez said the award showed India could behave with “absolute impunity” in the region, where stone-throwing protesters regularly clash with troops and police.

“This reward means India upholds torture as a means of saving lives and as a part of its counterinsurgency war in Kashmir,” he said. “This is a signal to people in Kashmir that India can do anything here with absolute impunity.”