Major Gogoi, who used civilian as human shield, may face seniority loss

The court-martial proceedings against Major Leetul Gogoi, a Rashtriya Rifles officer in central district Budgam, who had used a man Farooq Ahmad Dar as a human shield in May 2017, was completed on Sunday, March 31. Major Gogoi may face the loss of seniority as a punishment for “fraternising” with a local woman and being out of the place of duty when he was not authorised to do so in Srinagar last year.

According to India Today, he will not be eligible for the next promotion with his batch. His future promotions and prospects in the army will be delayed due to the punishment.

Major Gogoi first had hit the headlines in 2017, after he tied a man to a jeep in Kashmir purportedly as a shield against stone pelters during polling in the Srinagar Lok Sabha by-election on April 9. Again he was detained by police following an altercation with the hotel staff when he was allegedly trying to enter inside with an 18-year-old woman. The woman in her statement said that she had gone out with Major Gogoi of her own will, besides disclosing that she had become a friend of the Army officer through his fake Facebook profile, where he had named himself Ubaid Arman.