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INDIAN NEWS
Saved many lives by tying ring-leader of
stone-pelters to jeep: Major Leetul Gogoi
Srinagar: Giving his side of the
story, Major Leetul Gogoi, who
had tied a man to a jeep in
Kashmir purportedly as a shield
against stone-pelters, said on
Tuesday that his idea had saved
lives of many people.
Recalling the circumstances in
which he had ordered Farooq
Ahmed Dar to be tied to the
bonnet of the vehicle, Gogoi said
about 1200 stone-pelters had
surrounded a small group of
security personnel at a polling
booth in Utligam village of Budgam
district on April 9 and if he had
ordered firing, there could have
been at least 12 casualties.
Gogoi said he and five other
Army personnel had gone to that
polling booth after a “distress
call” about a small group of ITBP
personnel and few members of
the polling staff being surrounded
by a big crowd.
In the mob, the Major said he
saw a man who appeared to be
the “ring leader” as he was
“instigating” the stone-pelters on
the day of bypoll to Srinagar Lok
Sabha constituency.
“Then I noticed this man (Dar)
just 30 meters away from my
vehicle, he was the ring leader,
and I asked my QRT (Quick
Reaction Team) boys to get hold
of him. After noticing my boys
coming towards him he started
running towards the crowd and
took the bike to flee the spot,”
Gogoi, making an appearance on
television, rare by a Major-rank
officer, said.
He said Army personnel
managed to capture Dar and
took him inside the polling station.
“But soon there was an
announcement made from a
mosque after which more people
gathered outside the polling
station and they even hurled
petrol bombs at us,” the Major
said.
“When we were unable to
move out, I announced from my
mega-mic to tie the captured man
on the bonnet, after which the
stone pelting stopped for
sometime and we got time to come
out and get into our vehicles,” he
said.
“I did this (tie Farooq Dar on
the bonnet of my jeep) to save
more lives of the local people,”
Gogoi maintained.
Meanwhile, the government
backed the officer, with Union
Minister M Venkaiah Naidu saying
he saved lives under “exceptional
circumstances”.
“The action of the Major was
taken
in
exceptional
circumstances and the Army has
appreciated him. He wanted to
save the lives of the Indian citizens ‘Commendation Card’ for his
‘sustained efforts’ in counter-
insurgency operations, even as
the Army maintained that a court