BJP MP backs army major in the eye of jeep video storm
BJP parliamentarian has called for a “nationwide campaign” if any action is taken against major Leetul Gogoi, who is in the eye of a storm for allegedly tying a Kashmiri man to a jeep to use him as a human shield.
“If any kind of action is initiated against brave Maj Gogoi, let’s start a nationwide campaign to support him,” Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha tweeted on Tuesday.
The Karnataka lawmaker’s message of support came a day after the country’s top law officer, attorney general Mukul Rohatgi, said the officer should be “applauded” and not criticised.
The army is in the middle of a storm after a video clip surfaced last week showing a Kashmiri man tied to a jeep. It was purportedly done to deter stone-pelters who had surrounded the vehicles of security forces.
Gogoi ordered the man, said to be a stone thrower, to be tied to the Rakshak vehicle to ensure a safe passage for the convoy he was leading. The convoy was passing through a neighbourhood in Budgam area, close to the state capital Srinagar, where hundreds of locals gathered to attack the security personnel with stones, according to an army account. The army action has left Kashmir seething and divided public opinion. While Left parties have demanded punishment against those responsible for the “outrageous act”, most parties, including the BJP and the Congress, have maintained silence.
Gogoi, 38, hails from rural Assam. Army sources said he enlisted in the force at the age of 18 and served as a jawan in the 3rd Battalion of Assam Regiment for nearly nine years before joining the Dehradun-based Army Cadet College (ACC) to become an officer. Gogoi was commissioned as a lieutenant in December 2008.
The army service corps officer volunteered to serve with the Rashtriya Rifles in Kashmir.