Srinagar: The court martial proceedings against Army Major Leetul Gogoi, who was detained along with a local Srinagar woman when they tried to rent out a hotel room for the night, is likely to face reduction in seniority.
The punishment is likely to delay his future promotions and prospects in the army. Not only was he fraternising with a local woman, but he was also out of place of duty while in an operational area when the incident happened, which he was not authorised to do so.
The police had detained the major’s driver Sameer Malla, too, who also faced court martial on charges of unauthorised absence from the unit; he is likely to be given a “severe reprimand”. The manager had refused to give them the room leading to a scuffle, which had resulted in the local police making an intervention.
The 18-year-old woman had expressed her unwillingness to depose during the court martial proceedings and informed the Army authorities that she had given a statement before a magistrate and the same should be treated as her final stand. The woman had also stated 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.
Immediately after the incident came to light last year, Army chief Bipin Rawat had said that exemplary punishment would be given to Major Gogoi if he was found guilty of “any offence”. “If any officer of the Indian Army is found guilty of any offence, we will take strictest possible action,” General Rawat had said.
Major Gogoi was posted with Rashtriya Rifles battalion to fight insurgency. He was in the centre of another controversy in 2017 when he created a human shield by tying a Kashmiri youth to the bonnet of his jeep to avoid attacks by stone pelting mobs during the discharge of duties in the Badgam district of Jammu and Kashmir.
