The Budwan ‘human shield’ victim, Farooq Ahmad Dar, on Thursday held a street protest in Srinagar and sought action against Major Leetul Gogoi, who was detained for questioning along with a woman and a civilian following an altercation in a city hotel on Wednesday.
Mr. Dar, accompanied by human rights activist Ahsan Untoo, held a sit-in at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk. “This Army officer has been habitually breaking the law. Time has come to take action against him,” Mr. Dar said.
Mr. Dar was tied to the bonnet of a vehicle by Major Gogoi on a polling day in Budgam last year. “The incident badly impacted my life. I am yet to come to the terms,” he said.
Referring to Wednesday’s incident, in which a member of a hotel’s staff refused entry to the hotel to a local girl, Mr. Untoo said, “The Army officer was also involved in the firing incident that lead to death of 24-year-old Tanveer Ahmad Wani in Beerwah in July last year. He has already accepted having tied Dar to the vehicle. Why is he still being shielded?” Mr. Untoo has filed eight petitions, one before the High Court and seven at the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), over the use of a civilian as a human shield.
