Army officer’s defence on human shield questioned

The decision to produce Major Leetul Gogoi before the media, to repeat the sequence of events leading to his ‘out-of-the-box’ decision to use a Kashmiri civilian as a human shield, appears to have had mixed results. While a large number of people commended the officer for his “quick thinking” and saving the lives of people, other reactions have not been so charitable.

With the video of his version available in the public domain, people have sprung to his defence even as skeptics voice their doubts in a debate that is raging on the social media.

We culled a few reactions to give readers an idea of what makes the skeptics doubt his version:

• What if he turns out to be a voter and had already cast his vote at serial no. 618? Would a person who voted defying the fundamentalists, instigate the mob?
• Simple logic suggests all those so called 1000+ stone pelters could have used roadblocks to stop the unit. It’s also a fact that the pelters routinely face soldiers who carry heavy arms. Something just does not smell right here.
• If he was a stone pelter caught red-handed, why was he allowed to walk away? Why wasn't he handed over to JK police? If he wasn’t a stone pelter but conveniently available for use as a tool to diffuse a bad situation, why did the Major hang the placard reading ‘I am a stone pelter’?
• There is “stone-pelting” at a polling station. In the middle of which soldiers nab the “ringleader” without any difficulty, tie him to the front of a jeep and control the “stone-pelting” at the booth by a crowd of 1,000 radicals, all on foot, by driving him around for 25 kilometres as a trophy. Makes total sense?
• One of the sceptics broke up the army officer’s statement and questioned his version. We reproduce the officer’s statement followed by the doubts voiced by the sceptic.
• 1,200 people surrounded the polling station and were trying to burn it with petrol bombs, claimed the Major.
• Skeptic: He had his QRT of 4 men and yet he or his immediate boss felt that five soldiers were enough to counter a stone pelting and petrol bombing mob of approx 1,200?
• “People were pelting stones from all sides, even women and children, and even people from rooftops.”
• Anybody who has lived in Kashmir know that Kashmiri houses do not have rooftops. Since it snows and rains heavily, the architecture of Kashmiri houses have sloped roofs made of CGI sheets or wooden planks. Houses in villages do not have balconies either. Windows yes. I guess benefit of doubt may be given for a badly written script or slip of tongue.
• “I saw a short man standing about 30 meters from me and my vehicle, I immediately told my QRT boys to catch hold of him.”
• So this random short man was standing there and was not pelting stones at them; yet Major Gogoi ordered his QRT boys to catch him.
• Immediately I and my QRT boys ran towards the stone pelter and later on I realised that he was the ring leader and was instigating the mob.
• Now, when Gogoi and his men start running towards this short man became a stone pelter and also ring leader.
• “Despite the stone pelting somehow we got hold of him and started walking towards the poling station using the ITBP mine protected vehicle (MPV).”
• So, Gogoi and his men caught this man and walked upto the polling station instead of using his QRT jeep. Stone pelting continued despite Dar being with Gogoi and his QRT.
• “We rescued the polling staff, 7 ITBP and 1 JKP persons and started walking back, when the MPV got stuck in muddy area. At that time stone pelting was continuing and the local mosque made announcement and mob got more violent.”
• Clearly, Gogoi, his QRT, the rescued personnel and Farooq Ahmed Dar were walking back and were under intense stone pelting. Stone pelting continued despite Dar being with Gogoi and his QRT.
• Even a petrol bomb was thrown at us but it did not blast, but still I instructed my men to somehow move out the MPV from that area and we managed to rescue the MPV too.
• So, in addition to stones, a petrol bomb was hurled at them despite Farooq Ahmed Dar being in their custody. Seems the mob was not bothered about safety of their own Kashmiri youth.
• “I announced on my megaphone to give us a safe passage but the crowd was not listening. Suddenly at that moment in split second the idea came to my mind to tie him up to my vehicle. As soon as I ordered my men to tie him up, the crowd dispersed and stone pelting stopped, I immediately got a small window to move out.”
• Well ! Tying up a fully grown man onto the front of a jeep and also write a placard saying “I am a stone pelter” etc. takes a substantial amount of time which somehow does not get translated into a “small window of opportunity.”
• All this I did to save lives otherwise had I opened fire there would have been more than 12 casualties. There were 1,200 stone pelters and my men and also those I came to rescue.
• From this brief press statement of Major Gogoi, it emerges that all the time Dar was in his custody, stone pelting and even petrol bombs were not stopped by the 1,200 strong mob. Somehow mysteriously, only when Dar was tied to the Jeep, that the same 1,200 strong stone pelting and petrol bombing mob suddenly became concerned for the life of Dar and stopped.
• It will remain a mystery how just one officer and four soldiers managed to do all this through an angry murderous mob of 1,200 stone pelters and petrol bombers.