The Army has shifted Major Leetul Gogoi out of his unit in Budgam and attached him to a local formation headquarters in Awantipora, PTI reported on Wednesday. Gogoi has been indicted by a Court of Inquiry for “fraternising” with a local woman in Srinagar.
The officer will now face Summary of Evidence, a process similar to the framing of charges that will take about three months, reported ANI. It is the final step before the Army decides on initiating court martial proceedings against him.
On May 23, Gogoi was detained after he was involved in an altercation at a hotel in Srinagar. He was allegedly trying to check into the hotel with a Kashmir woman, reportedly in violation of Army protocols in a conflict zone.
A Court of Inquiry on August 27 held Gogoi guilty of fraternising with a resident in Jammu and Kashmir and ordered disciplinary action against him. It also held him accountable for “being away from his place of duty while in an operational area”.
Gogoi was at the centre of another controversy in April 2017 when he gave orders for a civilian to be tied to the bonnet of an Army vehicle as a human shield against stone-pelters during a bye-election in Srinagar.
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