Four Indian Army personnel including the Commanding Officer, Major of 21 Rashtriya Rifles unit along with two soldiers and one Jammu & Kashmir Police personnel were martyred in a terrorist encounter in Handwara in Jammu & Kashmir. As per Indian Army officials, two terrorists were also neutralised in the encounter.
As per the reports, the civilians in the house who were taken as hostage by terrorists were also rescued safely. The Commanding Officer of 21 Rashtriya Rifles who was martyred in the encounter was Colonel Ashutosh Sharma who has led several counter-terrorists operations in the past.The name of the 21 Rashtriya Rifles Commanding Officer, who lost his life in the Handwara operation, is Colonel Ashutosh Sharma. He had been part of several successful counter-terrorist operations in the past: Indian Army officials
— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2020
Handwara encounter
On 2nd May 2020, at around 3:30 PM, an encounter started between the Forces and terrorists in Chanjumullah area of Handwara in Kupwara, North Kashmir. Towards evening, reports started pouring in that two senior Army personnel including a Colonel-rank officer and a Major were trapped in a house with two Pakistani terrorists. The senior officers soon lost contact with the team.
As per reports, the terrorists were found hiding in a cowshed. The Forces were reportedly acting on a tipoff that terrorists were present in the Rajwar forests area. The special operations group of police surrounded the house the terrorists were hiding in and an encounter followed. As of now, the reports are that five security personnel have lost their lives while two terrorists were killed.
