Journalism of Courage
A day after police questioned a young woman after a fracas at a Srinagar hotel where she had shown up with two men including Major Leetul Gogoi, the officer who tied a civilian to a jeep and drove through several villages of Budgam last year, her mother claimed Gogoi had “raided” their house at night twice in the past and, on both occasions, was accompanied by Sameer Ahmed, the man who was with them at the hotel. Police sources said Sameer Ahmed too was in the Army.
On Wednesday, Gogoi, Ahmed and the woman were questioned at a police station following an altercation at the Hotel Grand Mamta after the staff refused to let her in. Police said the officer was later handed over to his unit. SP North City Sajad Ahmad Shah, who was asked by IGP (Kashmir) S P Pani to conduct an inquiry, said police were told that a room in the hotel had been booked in the name of Leetul Gogoi.
On Thursday, at the home of the young woman in a village in Budgam, her mother said: “She left home in the morning saying she would go to the bank and return soon. We had gone to work in the fields. We had no idea about it (the Srinagar incident) till others in the village informed us late in the afternoon.”
She claimed that Gogoi came to their house at night twice in the past. “He raided our house twice. On one occasion, I fainted when I saw the Army. On both occasions, he (Gogoi) was accompanied by Sameer. He warned us not to tell anyone about the raid,” she claimed.
Her daughter, the woman said, was associated with a Self Help Group. On Wednesday, she told them “she had to go to the bank to deposit some money. I gave her Rs 500. She picked her bag and left. She also took along her documents”.
The woman said her daughter was 17 years old. But police said she was an adult. She was allowed to leave after recording her statement. Sources said her school and Aadhaar records show her year of birth as 1998. Following the incident, she headed to a distant village to stay with a relative.
