Last remains of martyred colonel Ashutosh Sharma arrive in Jaipur; cremation tomorrow

Jaipur: The last remains of decorated Colonel Ashutosh Sharma who was among the five security personal killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district reached Jaipur on Monday. His last rites will be held with full army honours in the city on Tuesday. The body is being kept in the army hospital.

Ashutosh’s wife Pallavi, their daughter Tamanna, his brother Piyush Sharma were among the family members who were present when his body arrived at the airport. The body was then taken to the army hospital.

“My brother sacrificed his life for the country and we are very proud of it. My brother was a very brave army officer. He had been awarded several army honours for his services to the nation. He had said that he would catch the next flight to visit home as soon as the army operation was over,” said brother Piyush.

The family originally hails from Bulandshahr. They migrated to Jaipur nearly 20 years ago. While Ashutosh’s wife and daughter live in Rangoli Garden area of Vaishali Nagar, brother Piyush Sharma lives in Ajmer Road area.

A joint anti-terrorist operation by the armed forces and the J&K Police was carried out in the Handwara area of the district in north Kashmir, about 70 km from capital Srinagar, an official statement said, adding that the five-member team was able to rescue several civilians. Two terrorists were killed during the joint operation.

Decorated army officer Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, Major Anuj Sood, Naik Rajesh Kumar and Lance Naik Dinesh from the 21 Rashtriya Rifles unit were a part of the security operation; police officer Shakeel Ahmad Qazi was also with them.