Major Leetul Gogoi of ‘human shield' fame detained, allegedly found with a woman in Srinagar hotel

Major Gogoi, of the Rashtriya Rifles 53rd battalion, made headlines in April 2017 when he tied one Farooq Ahmed Dar to the front of his jeep in Budgam.

Major Leetul Gogoi, who made headlines last year for using a Kashmiri man as a human shield to save his team from stone pelters, was reportedly detained by the police along with a local woman from a hotel in Srinagar. The Army officer, the woman and another person were detained by the police and later released after questioning, said reports.

The incident occurred on Wednesday morning when Major Gogoi, who had booked the hotel online, arrived at Hotel Grand Mamta to check in, reported DNA.

Reports suggest the major was detained following an altercation at the reception of the hotel. The woman along with a person named Sameer Ahmed had reportedly come to visit the major at the hotel. The owner denied entry to them, after which an altercation ensued.

Some initial reports claimed that the woman was a minor, but later it became clear that she was 19-years-old.

Inspector General of Police, Kashmir S P Pani, has ordered a probe to be conducted by Superintendent of Police, North Zone, into the incident, reported news agency PTI quoting the spokesperson.

Major Gogoi, of the Rashtriya Rifles 53rd battalion, made headlines in April 2017 when he tied one Farooq Ahmed Dar to the front of his jeep in Budgam. Major Gogoi had later defended his action by saying that it saved lives.

At the time, the Army had defended Major Gogoi's action, claiming that he had done this act in "good faith" to save lives of many soldiers and polling staff from violent crowds of stone-pelters in Utligam village of Beerwah.

The officer was then awarded the Chief of Army Staff's Commendation (COAS) card for "sustained efforts in CI (counterinsurgency) operations".