General Rawat Writes Commendation Letter for Major Gogoi, Others

Major Gogoi was awarded a commendation card for ‘sustained efforts’ on counter-insurgency operations.

Thirty-six-year-old Farooq Dar was tied to a jeep allegedly as a human shield against stone-pelters during polling in the Srinagar Lok Sabha by-election. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@icakashmir)  

Major Gogoi, the officer who tied a local Kashmiri to a jeep for deterring stone-pelters, was awarded a commendation card for 'sustained efforts' on counter-insurgency operations on Monday. On Wednesday, Army Chief Bipin Rawat wrote a letter of commendation for him among other personnel.

Earlier on Monday, MP Paresh Rawal had ruffled some feathers by saying author Arundhati Roy should have been tied to the jeep.

Speaking to Times Now, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the commendation is going to boost the soldiers’ morale.

This is going to have a major positive impact on the morale of the soldiers. The commendation is certainly better because he is being singled out by the Army Chief and given a pat on the back. We should support our boys.

The incident occurred on 9 April in Budgam when Farooq Ahmad Dar was used as a human shield against stone-pelters on a five-vehicle convoy.

Subsequent video footage showing Dar strapped to the jeep went viral, prompting an FIR to be filed by the Jammu and Kashmir police.

Though army sources maintained that Dar was a stone-pelter, Dar claimed that he had stepped out to cast his vote when he was picked up by jawans on his way back home.

Meanwhile, Dar seems to have little or no hope for justice. He filed a complaint against the army with the State Human Rights Commission, but does not expect much to come of it.