In one of the most unfortunate developments of the day, four personnel of the Indian Army and a sub-inspector of the J&K Police were martyred on Sunday morning in an encounter between joint security forces and terrorists in Handwara. Among the deceased army men was Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, the commanding officer of the 21 Rashtriya Rifles unit team which was leading the counter-terror operation.
According to reports, Colonel Sharma was an outstanding officer of the Indian Armed Forces, having received two gallantry medals for his exemplary bravery during counter-terror operations. The expert feat which earned him the medal was an impressive one: A terrorist was rushing towards the Colonel and his men on a road with a grenade hidden in his clothes. Although faced with little time to react, the officer managed to take out his gun and shoot the terrorist in a quick flurry of reflexes. His quick wit and action had saved the lives of many of his troops along with Jammu and Kashmir police personnel that day.
A report by news agency ANI sheds light on the fact that Colonel Sharma is the first Commanding Officer or a Colonel-rank Army person in the last five years to have lost his life in an encounter with terrorists.
The last Commanding Officer-level army man who had lost his life during a counter-terror operation was Colonel MN Rai, who was killed in action in January 2015 in the Kashmir valley. Colonel Santosh Mahadik had lost his life, too, in November of the same year.
Unfortunately, this exemplary officer's life came to an end on Sunday, when he lost his life along with three other armed forces personnel and a cop in the Handwara encounter. The other army persons who were killed in action in Handwara today include Major Anuj Sood, Naik Rajesh, and Lance Naik Dinesh.
Elaborating on how the event unfolded, officials of the armed forces said that the team of the 21 Rashtriya Rifles had received intelligence input which suggested that terrorists were taking hostage the civilian inmates of a house in Changimulla, Handwara of the Kupwara district in the union territory. Based on this input, a joint operation was launched by the Indian Army and the J&K Police.
The 21 Rashtriya Rifles team entered the house of a civilian to prevent a hostage situation when they came under heavy fire from terrorists who had already reached there. In the ensuing gunfight, the four army men and the cop lost their lives, the Indian Army spokesperson said.
However, civilians stuck inside the house were safely evacuated, the official added.
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 "Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, decorated army officer, killed in action on Sunday")
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