Rajasthan: Pallavi Sharma, the wife of Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, who attained martyrdom fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Handwara on May 3, said that her husband has proved that he was worthy of donning the Indian Army uniform by making this supreme sacrifice.
“It was his dream to serve the country and wear the Indian Army uniform. He had worked very hard to earn the uniform. During the last 20 years of service in the army, he has proven himself time and again. This time too he proved that he was worthy of wearing this uniform,” Pallavi told ETV Bharat in an interview.
When asked if she was anticipating something like this, Pallavi said, “When I was not able to establish contact with him for a long time, I had a feeling that things were not good with him, and I got a call at 9 am in the morning about his demise.”
On whether she hopes that her husband’s sacrifice would inspire others including her daughter, Pallavi said, “I hope a lot of people will get inspired by the sacrifice made by my husband, including my daughter.”
Elaborating on the kind of person and an Army official her husband was, Pallavi said, “He always liked to lead from the front. He was always concerned about the safety of his soldiers, without worrying about himself.”
Also read: Col killed in Handwara was a two-time gallantry awardee for counter-terrorist ops
“I was always worried that something like this could happen. He has undertaken several similar operations in the past but things were different this time around," added Pallavi, who was married to Late Colonel Ashutosh Sharma for 16 years.
Remembering Col Sharma, his elder brother Piyush said that he always wanted to serve in the Indian Army.
"He had waged a war to join the Army, and he finally succeeded in his 13th attempt,” Piyush, whose son also aspires to join the Indian Army, told ETV Bharat.
Colonel Ashutosh Sharma belonged to the 21 Rashtriya Rifles unit of the Indian Army.
He had been twice awarded gallantry medals for exemplary bravery in counter-terrorist missions.
He is also 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.
He had received his gallantry award as a commanding officer when a terrorist was rushing towards his men on a road with a grenade hidden in his clothes. Sharma shot him at a close range which helped in saving the lives of many of his troops along with Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel.
Other army personnel, who lost their lives in the Handwara operation, include Major Anuj Sood, Naik Rajesh and Lance Naik Dinesh.
Two terrorists were also killed in the operation by the security forces in the remote location of Handwara.
