Award to Major Gogoi improper, says PDP

 A day after the army chief awarded an officer, who had tied a man to a jeep in Kashmir purportedly as a human shield against stone pelters, the ruling PDP on Tuesday termed it “improper”.

“If the government forces violate human rights, action should be taken against them. State government’s stand is clear that the incident should be investigated,” Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) general secretary, Nizamudin Bhat, told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar here.

He said the PDP, which is in coalition with the BJP in the state, has a clear stand on such incidents and the army’s decision to reward the officer for this “bravado is not proper.”

Major Leetul Gogoi, who is in the middle of a row for tying Farooq Ahmad Dar to an army vehicle during the bypoll in Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency on April 9 as a human shield against stone pelters, was honoured on Monday with the army chief’s Commendation Card for his sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations.

Major Gogoi defended his act by saying that he took the step “to save the local people.” “We went to a polling booth to monitor the security situation, where some people started pelting stones and petrol bombs at us. I took the step to save civilians,” Major Gogoi said in a press briefing on Tuesday. Hardline Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Geelani appealed to the International Court of Justice to take suo motu action against the officer. Geelani termed the decision as “extremely distressing and a shameful act.”