Making an appearance on national TV, rare by a Major-rank officer, Gogoi, who was honoured by Army chief General Bipin Rawat recently with a 'Commendation Card', defended his action. The government backed the officer, with Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu saying he saved lives under "exceptional circumstances". Meanwhile, the man, whose video tied to an army jeep as a human shield against stone pelters had gone viral on social media, questioned if dragging a person for kilometres on end was an act of bravery for which the officer had been honoured. He said after Dar was tied to the jeep, stone-pelting stopped for some time, providing a window to them to leave the area safely. The Jammu and Kashmir police said the investigation in the matter is still continuing as the FIR had not been quashed.

Source: dna May 23, 2017 15:45 UTC