Page 31 - June2018

kashmir

took exception to the girl accompany- God has exposed him and shamed him his previous war crime, can of course
ing him. The receptionist, whose video before the world.” feel emboldened to sexually exploit
statement about the incident, went Incidentally, the Army chief who had even a minor,” tweeted human rights
viral had checked the girl’s Aadhaar last year overruled an ongoing enquiry defender Khurram Parvez. “Those
card and found her below eighteen to confer award on Gogoi visited the who defended Gogoi in the past, will
years old. However, the receptionist’s state a day after the Gogoi incident to continue to defend the indefensible,
insistence to not allow the pair into take stock of the situation following the shamelessly”.
their booked rooms seemed to anger announcement of unilateral ceasefire But once again, Major Gogoi has
Major Gogoi. Not to give in easily, he al- by the centre for the month of Ramad- not run short of people who are ready
legedly insisted on taking the girl with han. General Rawat was briefed about to defend him on social media. Many
him to the room. The consequent argu- the security situation by the General well-regarded journalists, civil soci-
ment attracted the attention of others Officer Commanding of the Srinagar ety and political activists have called
around them and soon the word got based 15 Corps Lieutenant General togetherness of the Kashmiri girl and
out bringing passers-by to the scene. AK Bhatt. Gogoi as “consensual”, even without any
Sensing that the situation was going But this time instead of defending knowledge of why they were together
out of hand, the hotel owner Manzoor Major Gogoi, the Army chief promised and what they were up to.
Ahmad informed the Police. Gogoi, the an exemplary punishment for him “How do we know that Major #Go-
girl and their driver Sameer Malla were should he be found guilty. goi was not set up or an attempt to
later detained. They were released after honey trap him. I don’t support what
recording of their statement. The Major he did on the Jeep issue. But if we are
was handed over to his Army unit. Last year, Gogoi liberals, his personal life must be his .I
But by then the news was don›t support vigilantism,” Congress
everywhere. had become a supporter, columnist and model Teh-
household name seen Poonawalla tweeted. Arguments
Gogoi, a household name like these have been a further source
Last year, Gogoi had become a house- in the country of outrage in the Valley. “Sordid saga of
hold name in the country for using Major Gogoi & Indian intellectuals! For
Dar as a human shield to apparently for using Dar as those justifying this statutory rape &
safeguard his troops against the pro- a human shield giving it a shade of ‘consensual sex’ with
testers. Though the Army later initi- a minor are oblivious to the disparate
ated an enquiry against him he was to apparently power equilibrium that exists between
soon exonerated. What is more, even safeguard his the armed forces, under the protective
before the Army could complete its garb of AFSPA & local Kashmiris (sic),”
investigation, the Army chief General troops against the tweeted Shazia Bakshi.
Bipin Rawat honoured Gogoi with a protesters However, one thing is sure: like the
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) commenda- human shield incident, Gogoi’s fresh
tion card for his “sustained valour” in run-in with the law will have a far-
“counter insurgency efforts.” As a result, “If any officer of the Indian army is reaching fallout in the state. People are
Gogoi became a hero among sections found guilty of any offence, we will take keen to see how the case is handled,
of people in the country. But in Kashmir strictest possible action,” Rawat told re- both by the Army and the police which
he was widely seen as a villain and, in porters. “If Major Gogoi has done some- was initially reluctant to officially name
many ways, a symbolic representa- thing wrong, I assure you that he will be him. No action against Gogoi will fur-
tion of the alleged state oppression, a awarded punishment at the earliest... ther strain the already diminished faith
perception reinforced further by the the punishment will set an example.” of the people in the state machinery.
Army chief’s award for him. This is why, Meanwhile, the mother of the girl “It is time that the Army takes a
the hotel incident has thus come as told the media that Major Gogoi occa- strong disciplinary action against Major
cathartic, a vindication of the public sionally visited their house at night to Gogoi and sends a belated right signal
|belief about Gogoi’s alleged wrong- enquire about their well-being. to Kashmiris, to go with the ongoing
doing last year. In case of the human unilateral ceasefire,” said the local col-
shield Dar, however, the incident has Reactions umnist Naseer Ahmad. “Not doing so
come as “a divine justice”. The incident triggered strong reactions will only deepen the current cynicism
“He (Gogoi) had tied me to a jeep and online, both in the Valley and the rest towards the state apparatus and further
paraded me across several villages. I of the country. “In a militarized region otherize people”.
was labelled a stone-pelter. Govern- where army has absolute impunity, Ma-
ment didn’t support me,” Dar said. “But jor Gogoi, who has been celebrated for letters@tehelka.com

Tehelka / 15 june 2018 31 www.Tehelka.com

30-31 Riyaz- Gogoi.indd 3 06/06/18 1:20 PM