On eighth day of unilateral cessation of anti-insurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir, the Chief of Army Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat arrived here on Thursday to review the prevailing security situation. The Army chief was briefed at various security formations on the ground challenges and he assured the troops to further strengthen the security posture.

Gen Rawat arrived at a time when a controversially decorated officer of Rashtriya Rifles Major Leetul Gogoi was caught on a wrong foot in Srinagar when he attempted to check in at a hotel along-with a local girl. Gogoi was in news last year when he strapped a youngster to an army jeep as a human shield and paraded him through several villages in Beerwah pocket of central Kashmir’s Budgam district.

Gen Rawat was accompanied by XV corps commander Lt Gen AK Bhatt to the formation headquarters and units to receive briefing on the operational preparedness. “The Army Chief was appreciative of the measures and Standard Operating Procedures instituted by the units and formations to meet the challenges posed by the inimical elements. Commending the performance of the troops in the recent successful operations, the Army Chief stressed the need to maintain the extra vigil to defeat the evil designs of hostile forces and assured his full support to further strengthen the security posture,” a defence spokesman said.

The army chief arrived here at a time when the central government has announced non-initiation of combat operations in the wake of holy month of Ramadhan. The ceasefire period has so far passed peacefully.

However, the army faced an embarrassing situation when Major Leetul Gogoi was briefly detained in Srinagar when he tried to check in along-with a local girl at a Srinagar hotel. According to Company Operating Procedure (COP), the army officers engaged in counter-insurgency duty are not allowed to leave their formations and venture into civilian areas.

Gogoi has already been in news last year when he tied a local weaver to an army vehicle during a polling day and paraded him through villages to scare alleged stone-pelters. The army defended his action and despite a Court of Inquiry was probing his intent, he was awarded with Army’s Chief’s Commendation medal for his role o0n counter-insurgency front.

Even as police have set up a Special investigating Team to probe Gogoi’s escapade, the Army did not issue any statement on the incident.

The spokesman said that General Rawat also took stock of the security and administrative arrangements for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra which is scheduled to commence from 27 June 2018 and stressed on the need for close coordination with Civil Administration to ensure a smooth and efficient conduct of the Yatra.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, Friday, 25 May 2018 | Khursheed Wani | Srinagar