NEW DELHI: The Army has “severely reprimanded” Major Leetul Gogoi, who will also suffer loss of seniority of six months for pension only, after a court martial found him guilty of “fraternising” with a Kashmiri woman and being away from his place of duty in 2018.
Major Gogoi first made news after he tied a man to an Army jeep purportedly as a shield against a stone-throwing mob during a bypoll in Budgam in April 2017. In May 2018, he was caught with a local woman in a Srinagar hotel.
The Army headquarters confirmed court martial proceedings against Major Gogoi and his driver Sameer Malla, who were held guilty on two counts — “fraternising” with a local woman in spite of instructions to the contrary, and “being away from the place of duty while in operational area”.
Sources said that loss of seniority will not affect Major Gogoi’s promotion prospects. It will only lead to a reduction in his pension.
The decision of the military court will lead to the lifting of the disciplinary vigilance ban on him, enabling his normal posting.
Clarifying on media reports of Major Gogoi being shunted out, the Army has said that he is “not being shunted out as some media is reporting.”
Major Gogoi got posted to a Rashtriya Rifles unit in March 2016 and was posting out in October 2018. But he was attached to the Victor Force, an anti- terrorist formation, for additional time pending the inquiry and action.