'Human shield' Dar welcomes Major Gogoi's indictment by court of inquiry

SRINAGAR:

Farooq Ahmad Dar

of Chill village in Central Kashmir's Budgam district on Monday felt vindicated after an Army Court of Inquiry indicted

Major Nitin Leetul Gogoi

for allegedly "fraternising" with a woman in a hotel in Srinagar and being away from his place of duty.


The 28-year-old embroidery artisan was tied to the bonnet of an Army jeep and used as a "

human shield

" and was paraded through 28 villages in Budgam on April 9, 2017 by Major Gogoi to escape stone-pelting while Dar was on his way to cast his vote in the

Srinagar Lok Sabha bye-election

, defying the boycott call by separatists. The incident triggered widespread outrage across the country.

"Justice has been finally done. I am thankful to the Almighty. The person who ruined my life has to face the wrath of God finally. God has his ways to do justice." Dar told PTI.

Suffering trauma for being branded as a "government agent", Dar recalled his pleas to Major Gogoi to release him. "The Army Major was arrogant with power and considered himself as my creator. However, little did he know that 'Uski lathi mein awaaz nahi hai' (Lightning makes no sound until it strikes)," he said.

"It was not only a humiliation for me, I am still facing social boycott for participating in the poll. Later, I informed authorities about participating in the poll process so that I am not branded as a stone-pelter," Dar, who is yet to come out of the trauma, said.

Dar struggled to prove his innocence despite the police and the district administration said that he was picked by Major Gogoi without any "valid reason" and tied to the bonnet of his jeep. He said he felt satisfied with the Major's indictment in moral turpitude case.

"I am not sure whether I will be able to restart my life but I am happy that God has given me justice at the end of the day. The person who is responsible for my destruction has also been eventually shamed," said Dar.

According to Dar, Major Gogoi picked him up, beat him mercilessly and tied to an Army jeep and paraded through 28 villages to escape stone-pelters. "I had gone to cast my vote rejecting boycott call of the separatists, but Major Gogoi held, beat and branded me as a stone-pelter," he said.

On May 23, 2018, Major Gogoi was caught with a woman asking for room in Hotel Mamta at Dalgate in Srinagar. The hotel owner refused to give him a room and Major Gogoi was detained by police. The matter was reported to Army authorities who ordered CoI against the officer.

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