Who is Colonel Ashutosh Sharma? 10 things to know about officer killed in terrorist encounter in J&K's Handwara

In the biggest loss in recent years, two senior Army officers, including a colonel, were among five security personnel killed during an encounter with terrorists in north Kashmir, officials said on Sunday.

The encounter in Handwara in Kupwara district claimed the lives of Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, Major Anuj Sood, Naik Rajesh and Lance Naik Dinesh, all from the Brigade of the Guards regiment, and at present part of the 21 Rashtriya Rifles, who were deployed to counter terrorism in the hinterland. A Jammu and Kashmir Police Sub-Inspector, Sageer Ahmad Pathan alias Qazi, also fell victim to the bullets of terrorists.

Also Read: Colonel, Major, police officer among seven killed in terrorist encounter in Kashmir’s Handwara

Meanwhile, here are things to know about Colonel Sharma:

1) Colonel is originally from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh and is survived by his wife and his 12-year-old daughter.

2) Col Sharma had been part of several successful counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir in the past. He served Kashmir for a long time and was twice awarded Sena medal for gallantry, including one for bravery as CO.

3) He received the gallantry award as a CO when he shot a militant-- who was rushing towards his men on a road with a grenade hidden in his clothes-- at close range.

4) Col Sharma is the first CO or a colonel rank officer in the last five years to have lost life in an encounter with militants. Before this, the Army had lost two colonel-ranking officers in separate terror incidents in 2015.

5) He had told his colleagues that he would nab or gun down the Lashkar-e-Taiba commander, according to India Today.

6) Attempting to get into the army for six-and-a-half years, Col Sharma successfully joined the Army in his thirteenth attempt.

7) Col Sharma used to go out of the way for his jawans and solve their problems, reported Economic Times.

8) Before the encounter, intelligence inputs indicated the presence of the same group of terrorists inside a house at Changimulla village, prompting Col Sharma to launch a cordon-and-search operation along with his team and Qazi.

9) According to the officials, the team came under heavy fire after rescuing the civilians and all communication link with Col Sharma and his team was snapped.

10) A wreath-laying ceremony would be held on May 5 in Srinagar after which the bodies would be flown to their native places where they will be cremated keeping the coronavirus safety protocols in mind.