SRI NAGAR: Major Leetul Gogoi, who used a youngster as a human shield against stone pelters in Kashmir last year, is likely to face a court martial as the Army’s Court of Inquiry (CoI) has indicted him and ordered disciplinary action in the Srinagar hotel case. The CoI, ordered after he was caught with a girl and another army man at Hotel Grand Mamta in Dalgate, Srinagar, has held him accountable for “fraternising” with a local woman in violation of guidelines and being away from his place of duty while in an operational area, sources said.
They added that the CoI submitted its findings to the Convening Authority earlier this month and ordered disciplinary action against Gogoi for breaching discipline and leaving the camp without intimating his seniors. The Major, who in April 2017 tied a youngster to the bonnet of an army vehicle during the bypolls to the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, had booked a room for two at the Srinagar hotel in the name of a businessman. The booking was done online.
However, the hotel staff denied Gogoi accommodation when they saw him with a local girl. The Major and the other army man then had an altercation with the staff of the hotel and locals. The cops detained the two, along with the girl, and lodged them in the Khanyar police station. They were released after questioning. The woman had said she went to the hotel willingly. An army official told The New Indian Express that ordering of disciplinary action against Gogoi was the first step towards his court-martial.
The charges
The probe indicted him for fraternising with a local woman in violation of norms, and being away from his place of duty while in an operational area. He could now be shifted from his present area of posting