Exemplary punishment for Major Leetul Gogoi if found guilty: Army chief Bipin Rawat

SRINAGAR: Army Chief Bipin Rawat today said exemplary punishment would be given to Major Leetul Gogoi if he was found guilty of "any offence".

On May 23, Gogoi was briefly detained by police in Srinagar after an altercation when he was allegedly trying to enter a hotel with an 18-year-old woman, according to a police official.

"If any officer of the Indian army is found guilty of any offence, we will take strictest possible action," Rawat told reporters at Pahalgham while on a visit to the Army Goodwill School.

"If Major Gogoi has done something wrong, I assure you that he will be awarded punishment at the earliest the punishment will set an example," the army chief said.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police has initiated an inquiry into the incident involving Gogoi, whose decision to tie a civilian to the bonnet of his vehicle in Kashmir last year sparked a row.