Leetul Gogoi and the human shield row

The son of a humble production hand from Assam’s rust belt overnight became a national figure for his ‘human shield action’ in Kashmir.

Major Leetul Gogoi, from Namrup in eastern Assam and belonging to the 53 Rashtriya Rifles, received the Indian Army chief's 'commendation card' for his 'sustained efforts' in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

He came to limelight after a video surfaced on the web, showing a Kashimiri man tied to an Army vehicle during polling in the Srinagar Lok Sabha by-election on 9th April 2017.

The video, shot on 9 April during the violence-marred Srinagar by-polls, showed a man, later identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar, tied to the bonnet of an army jeep with a placard in Badgam of Jammu and Kashmir.

The video went viral on social media and created an uproar. An FIR was registered by the Jammu and Kashmir police against the security forces.

Gogoi justified his actions of using a Human shield and told a private Indian news channel - "I saved lives without firing a bullet or beating anyone''.

Gogoi’s hometown, located about 80 kilometers from Dibrugarh amid forests in the Patkai Hills, has itself been in the past the hotbed of insurgency movements.

Leetul studied in Dibrugarh and Shillong, and later graduated from the Indian Military Academy.

Sources in the Army said that Leetul became a part of the Services at 18 and served as a jawan in the 3rd Battalion of Assam Regiment for nearly nine years, before joining the Dehradun-based Army Cadet College (ACC) to become an officer. Gogoi was commissioned as a lieutenant in December 2008.