Handwara: Colonel, Major among 5 security personnel martyred in Kashmir encounter with terrorists

Srinagar (J&K), May 3, 2020: Five soldiers, including Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, commanding officer of 21 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) of the army were martyred in the encounter that started from Saturday night in Handwara. During the encounter, the army killed two terrorists. The security forces launched an attack at a house in North Kashmir after the information of the terrorists being hidden there was received. The terrorists kept the people of the house hostage, the army and police teams went to rescue them. These people were rescued by the security forces.

The martyrs include Major Anuj Sood, Police Sub-Inspector Shakeel Qazi, Naik Rakesh Kumar and Lance Naik Dinesh Singh, besides Colonel Ashutosh. The encounter started at 3 pm on Saturday afternoon at Chanjimullah village in Handwara. Colonel Ashutosh had received the Army Medal for the second time last year. He was from the Guards Regiment and hailed from Allahabad.

Army Chief General M M Naravane paid tribute to the valiant braves of Army and J&K Police for their supreme sacrifice while fighting and eliminating terrorists in Handwara. “The Armed Forces are proud of their courage as they have successfully eliminated the terrorists. We salute these brave personnel and express our deep-felt condolences for the bereaved families. Commanding Officer leading from the front along with other personnel of the unit and J&K Police have laid down their lives, living up to the motto; Service Before Self. This operation exemplified true tradition and strong determination of the security forces to safeguard the lives of own citizens. The Commanding Officer leading from the front along with others is testimony to the motto of Service before Self”, Army message stated.

On Saturday, the security forces received credible information that terrorists were hiding in the wooded areas of Handwara. Shortly thereafter, the army conducted a search operation in the area. However, no terrorist was detected. Around 3 pm, the army again received the information that some terrorists were hiding in a house in Chanjimullah village, 3 km from the wooded area, and they had kept the people hostage.

The security forces started the operation to free the hostages. The team was led by Ashutosh Sharma, Commanding Officer of 21 Rashtriya Rifles. He was accompanied by a team of 5 people, including a Major and Jammu and Kashmir police officer.

When the soldiers entered the house, the terrorists were hiding in a nearby cowshed. Security forces evacuated people safely from the house. Then the terrorists started firing. Meanwhile, communication was lost from the security forces. Contact with security forces remained disconnected for several hours.

The encounter area received heavy rain throughout the night on Saturday. Meanwhile, the encounter also continued. The firing came to a halt around 7 am Sunday. After this, the army inspected the house. Then it was learned that two terrorists were killed in the army’s action, but during this time 5 soldiers including Colonel Ashutosh Sharma were also martyred.

This is the second time 21 RR lost his commanding officer. Earlier in 2000, Colonel Rajinder Chauhan, the commanding officer of 21 RR, was martyred in the IED blast of terrorists. Brigadier BS Shergill and five jawans were also martyred in this incident. All the officers had gone out for inspection and the terrorists blasted the IEDs on the road.

Since January this year, more than 62 terrorists have been killed in encounters in different areas of Jammu and Kashmir. During the lockdown, there have been continuous attempts of infiltration from across the border from Pakistan based terrorists.