Inquiry indicts Major Gogoi for hotel foray

The infamous Major Leetul Gogoi, who was detained by the police from a Srinagar hotel when he got into an altercation with the hotel staff over his 18-year-old woman companion – a local Kashmiri – has been indicted by a court of inquiry.

According to reports, a room had been booked online for Gogoi at the hotel. The officer later told the police he had come for a "source meeting".

The court has held him accountable for "fraternising" with a civilian despite clear instructions to the contrary and for "being away from the place of duty while in operational area", sources said.

Orders have been issued for initiating disciplinary action against him.

In the days after the incident, Army chief General Bipin Rawat had promised exemplary punishment for Gogoi if the major was found to be in violation of the service's rules. The punishment could entail loss of seniority or a more serious disciplinary action.

Major Gogoi was embroiled in another controversy during the Srinagar Lok Sabha by-poll last year, when he tied a civilian to the bonnet of an Army jeep, using him as a human shield to escape from the fury of stone-pelters.

"Justice has been finally done," remarked Farooq Ahmed Dar, an artisan who was used as 'human shield' by Major Gogoi, on hearing that the officer had been indicted.

"I am thankful to the Almighty. The person who ruined my life has to face the wrath of God finally. God has his ways of doing justice," Dar told PTI over phone from his home.

The 28-year-old embroidery artisan, who is struggling to pick up the threads of his life after the traumatic incident, said the army should have treated his case also on compassionate grounds and listened to his version of the incident that sparked an outrage.