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Tariq Bhat
Tariq Bhat

HUMAN SHIELD ROW

Felicitated Major allowed to explain circumstances that led to using human shield

major-gogoi-ani Major Nitin Leetul Gogoi had used a civilian as a human shield during the bypolls in Srinagar | ANI

When news came that Army Chief Bipin Rawat has awarded a commendation certificate to Major Nitin Leetul Gogoi, the officer who used Farooq Ahmed Dar, a civilian, as a human shield during the bypolls in Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency on April 9, Farooq was shocked. He said the decision to honour Major Gogoi reflects the mentality of the Indian Army towards Kashmiris.

Army sources in Srinagar said the officer has been awarded for his track record in counter-insurgency operations. Farooq, one of the few people who had cast his vote that day in the bypolls that recorded a dismal 7.13 per cent turnout, said that he was going to attend the condolence meeting of a relative at Gampora in Pulwama on his bike when the Army stopped him at Gutligam and then thrashed him. He said some women tried to intervene, but the Army took him with them and made him sit on a tire on the front bumper. “A soldier was daring the stone pelters to throw stones at the jeep,” he said. Dar was released after the sarpanch of his village, Chil, asked the Army to let him go. He said he didn't register a complaint against fear of reprisal. “I have an old mother to look after, I left it at that,” he said.

But Major Gogoi today refuted Dar's claims at a press briefing at Beerwah, 40 km from Srinagar, and explained the circumstances that led to tying Dar to the jeep, which he said “saved 12 lives”.

The Army has initiated a court inquiry against Gogoi, but after facing criticism for rewarding an erring officer, it allowed Gogoi to explain the circumstances that led him to tie Dar to the vehicle.

The officer from Assam said that they had received a distress call from the CRPF from a polling booth in Gutligam that day around 10.30 am, and he rushed to the spot with a team of soldiers. “When we reached the area, we saw a large crowd, including women and children,” he said. “They were throwing stones, and some people were even throwing boulders at us from their rooftops.” He said he saw Dar was around 30 feet away from his vehicle, and directed his soldier to nab him. He said Dar was instigating the crowds and could have been the ringleader of the stone pelters but didn't see him pelting stones on the forces.

“Catching him allowed the Army room to enter the polling booth and rescue 12 people – four civil polling staff, seven ITBP personnel and one policeman,” he said. The officer from 53 RR said when they were moving out from the area, the mine protecting vehicle got stuck in slush. He said amid calls from the mosques, the protests were pelting stones and throwing “petrol bombs at us”.

“They didn't listen despite the calls from the loudspeakers of the mosques to allow us a safe passage,'' he said. “The crowd was not listening to us. So in a fraction, I thought of tying Dar to the jeep,” he said. “Stone pelting stopped for a while. That was the window we needed to move out”.

The announcement of the award to Gogoi, sources said, has not gone down well with the PDP leadership as Mehbooba had promised investigations into the matter. She had written on her Facebook page – “In the ‘human shield’ video case FIR No 38/17 U/S 342/149/506&367 RPC has been registered in Police Station Beerwah on 13/4/17. Investigation is being conducted by SDPO Magam. We shall ensure that investigations are taken to a logical conclusion so that action is taken.”

Politically, the award to Major Gogoi is likely to further dent the credibility of the PDP-BJP government. Sources said the PDP is feeling embarrassed. “It is unfortunate that the Army has gone ahead with announcing the award before the inquiry against Major Gogoi is complete,” said a PDP leader.

The opposition NC spokesman Junaid Mattu concurred. Mattu called the development shameful. He said there is no compulsion for the Army to use a human shield. “As per the Geneva Convention and the Constitution of India, the use of a human shield is highly unethical,” he said. “The Defence Ministry and the Army chief should have waited for the inquiry to finish.”

Omar Abdullah, hitting out at the Army court of inquiry in a tweet, said, “In future pls (sic) do not bother with the farce of military court of inquiry. Clearly, the only court that matters is the court of public opinion.”

“And international conventions like the Geneva/Vienna ones only count when India can accuse others of violation. Do as we say not as we do,” he tweeted.

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