<p>At the centre of a controversy, Major Leetul Gogoi today appeared before the media to say that his action of tying a man to a jeep as a shield against stone-pelting last month was intended to save the lives of many people.<br /><br />Breaking his silence, he 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.<br /><br />Gogoi, who was commended by the Army chief yesterday, 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 of about 1200 stone-pelters.<br /><br />The mob, which included women and children, was threatening to set ablaze the polling booth, he said.<br />Amidst the mob, he said he saw a man who appeared to be the "ring leader" as he was "instigating" the stone-pelters at Utlgam, about 20 kms from his residence, on the day of bypoll to Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency on April 9.<br /><br />He said the idea of tying the man, who was identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar, to the jeep had struck him suddenly as a means to evacuate the polling staff and the paramilitary personnel, besides avoiding any casualties.<br /><br />He said after Dar was tied to the jeep, the stone-pelting stopped for some time, providing a window to them to leave that area safely.<br /><br />"This thing I have done only to save the local people. Had I fired, there would have been more than 12 casualties... With this idea, I have saved many peoples' lives," Gogoi told reporters at his Beerwah camp in Budgam district, giving details of the incident.<br /><br />He spoke to the media on the incident on a day the Army said it had destroyed Pakistani posts across the Line of Control (LoC) in Naushera sector in a "punitive" action.<br /><br />Talking about Dar, Gogoi said, "He tried to flee on a bike but somehow, despite intense stone pelting and getting hurt, we caught hold of him."<br /><br />He said after catching Dar, the army personnel moved towards the polling station with the help of mine-protected vehicle.<br /><br />"Once we got inside, I rescued four civil polling staff, seven ITBP personnel and one J&K Police constable," he said.<br /><br />The officer said while they were leaving the polling station, their mine-protected vehicle got stuck in the mud.<br />"On seeing us, the mob again resorted to stone-pelting. At that time, an announcement was made in the mob ... The civilians had started gathering and they were more violent. They even threw a petrol bomb at us but somehow the petrol bomb did not explode," he said.<br /><br />Gogoi said he ordered his men to somehow take out the vehicle from the mud, which they managed to do.<br />"In the meantime, again I announced through my megaphone that give us a safe passage so that we can move out from the area but the crowd was not listening to us.<br /><br />"At that moment, suddenly the idea of tying him (Dar) to the vehicle came to my mind.<br /><br />"As soon as I ordered my boys to tie him up on the vehicle, the stone-pelting stopped for a while and that was a fraction of the moment where I got a window to come out safely from that place and immediately I informed all my boys to get inside the vehicle and we moved out from that area," he added.<br /><br />Gogoi's appearance before the media came a day after he was awarded Chief of Army Staff's Commendation Card for his sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations .<br /><br />An army court of inquiry and a separate police investigation into the incident is still going on.<br /><br />Kashmir Inspector General of Police Munir Khan today said the police probe into the matter will continue. <br /></p>
<p>At the centre of a controversy, Major Leetul Gogoi today appeared before the media to say that his action of tying a man to a jeep as a shield against stone-pelting last month was intended to save the lives of many people.<br /><br />Breaking his silence, he 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.<br /><br />Gogoi, who was commended by the Army chief yesterday, 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 of about 1200 stone-pelters.<br /><br />The mob, which included women and children, was threatening to set ablaze the polling booth, he said.<br />Amidst the mob, he said he saw a man who appeared to be the "ring leader" as he was "instigating" the stone-pelters at Utlgam, about 20 kms from his residence, on the day of bypoll to Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency on April 9.<br /><br />He said the idea of tying the man, who was identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar, to the jeep had struck him suddenly as a means to evacuate the polling staff and the paramilitary personnel, besides avoiding any casualties.<br /><br />He said after Dar was tied to the jeep, the stone-pelting stopped for some time, providing a window to them to leave that area safely.<br /><br />"This thing I have done only to save the local people. Had I fired, there would have been more than 12 casualties... With this idea, I have saved many peoples' lives," Gogoi told reporters at his Beerwah camp in Budgam district, giving details of the incident.<br /><br />He spoke to the media on the incident on a day the Army said it had destroyed Pakistani posts across the Line of Control (LoC) in Naushera sector in a "punitive" action.<br /><br />Talking about Dar, Gogoi said, "He tried to flee on a bike but somehow, despite intense stone pelting and getting hurt, we caught hold of him."<br /><br />He said after catching Dar, the army personnel moved towards the polling station with the help of mine-protected vehicle.<br /><br />"Once we got inside, I rescued four civil polling staff, seven ITBP personnel and one J&K Police constable," he said.<br /><br />The officer said while they were leaving the polling station, their mine-protected vehicle got stuck in the mud.<br />"On seeing us, the mob again resorted to stone-pelting. At that time, an announcement was made in the mob ... The civilians had started gathering and they were more violent. They even threw a petrol bomb at us but somehow the petrol bomb did not explode," he said.<br /><br />Gogoi said he ordered his men to somehow take out the vehicle from the mud, which they managed to do.<br />"In the meantime, again I announced through my megaphone that give us a safe passage so that we can move out from the area but the crowd was not listening to us.<br /><br />"At that moment, suddenly the idea of tying him (Dar) to the vehicle came to my mind.<br /><br />"As soon as I ordered my boys to tie him up on the vehicle, the stone-pelting stopped for a while and that was a fraction of the moment where I got a window to come out safely from that place and immediately I informed all my boys to get inside the vehicle and we moved out from that area," he added.<br /><br />Gogoi's appearance before the media came a day after he was awarded Chief of Army Staff's Commendation Card for his sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations .<br /><br />An army court of inquiry and a separate police investigation into the incident is still going on.<br /><br />Kashmir Inspector General of Police Munir Khan today said the police probe into the matter will continue. <br /></p>